Motorists Urged to Drive Less As Gas Supplies Drop

Some independent gasoline stations started to run short of fuel Wednesday, lines formed in some places, and prices continued to rise.

AAA urged motorists to drive less and conserve fuel.

With two major pipelines and up to eight refineries shut down, gasoline was getting tougher to find at some stations, particularly in the Midwest and on the East Coast:

*Indianapolis-based Crystal Flash Petroleum stopped selling fuel at many of its 23 Indiana stores when its gulf-based supplier began rationing its fuel.

*In Florida, some stations were running out of regular-grade gas, leaving only premium grades, said Pat Moricca, president of the Gasoline Retailers Association of Florida. “They don’t know if they are going to get their next load.”

“This is a crisis. You are going to see some runs on supply,” said Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service.

Red Cavaney, CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, predicted that the crisis will be “significant and protracted.”

The crisis is made worse by already tight gasoline supplies. The Energy Information Administration released a gasoline inventory survey Wednesday showing that as of last week, the USA had 0.6% less available gasoline in all grades and formulations than a week ago. The 21-day supply was the lowest reported in two years.

There was one bit of good news for drivers: The Environmental Protection Agency granted a waiver to allow gas and diesel fuels that result in more vehicle emissions to be sold nationwide through Sept. 15. Tuesday, the waiver applied only to Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Experts agree that gas prices will peak at an average above $3 a gallon. But “It’s too early to say whether $4 a gallon is possible,” said Dan Pickering, president of Houston consulting firm Pickering Energy Partners.

Prices likely will climb high enough that motorists will cut back on driving, making gas available but expensive, said Larry Goldstein, president of the Petroleum Industry Research Foundation.

Though motorists are griping about big overnight price jumps, state attorneys general say they haven’t had many complaints yet about exploitive pricing. While many states have laws against what is considered “gouging,” definitions vary.

Despite the approach of the three-day Labor Day weekend, motorists organization AAA urged gas conservation.

“At this point, anything they can do to limit their discretionary driving and conserve fuel would be helpful,” spokesman Geoff Sundstrom said.

Contributing: James R. Healey and Sue Kirchhoff, USA TODAY; Jamie Malarkey, The Indianapolis Star