Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Hurricane Katrina

Amid uncertainty, gas prices jump

Supply concerns drive a rush by consumers. Stations run out as prices top $3 in the bay area.

By JONI JAMES, LOUIS HAU and JEFF HARRINGTON
Published September 2, 2005

	MORE COVERAGE: MULTIMEDIA Multimedia: Continuing fallout Latest Times photos Storm Watch blog

A grim three-day weekend for holiday travel is unfolding amid soaring gas prices and spot outages at gas stations throughout the area.

Gas prices in the Tampa Bay area reached as high as $3.09 for regular unleaded Thursday, and state officials warned they might climb higher with little reprieve for at least a couple of weeks. Florida tourism officials were concerned people might cancel Labor Day weekend trips if they worry gas will be hard to find.

President Bush said motorists should brace for "a temporary disruption of gasoline" as his administration works to restore pipeline capacity in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

"Steps we're taking will help address the problem of availability (of gasoline), but it's not going to solve it," he said. "Americans should be prudent in their use of energy over the course of the next few weeks. Don't buy gas if you don't need it."

His brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, offered little hope of a quick resolution.

"You tell me when the refineries will be up and running and when the pipelines are taking natural gas from the drilling platforms in the gulf, and I'll tell you when the problem will go away," the governor said.

By midday Thursday, more than 500 fuel price complaints had been filed with Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson's office. And Attorney General Charlie Crist issued a pair of subpoenas to two gasoline distributors, Murphy Oil USA and Colonial Oil Industries, to gather data for an investigation into fuel prices.

Although Katrina triggered the disruption in fuel production and price spikes, gas companies and state regulators blamed spot outages on panic buying and hoarding by customers. With more than 187-million gallons of fuel in state ports, they said supplies would be adequate if people would avoid topping off.

Yet, many bay area residents like Dexter McGriff considered it better to be safe with a full tank of gas than sorry if prices rise higher as expected and more stations are cordoned off with yellow caution tape and "Out of Gas" signs.

After watching Katrina updates on TV Wednesday night, McGriff sprang into action. The 47-year-old owner of a Web site design company spent most of Thursday morning and early afternoon topping off the gas tanks of his girlfriend's Lexus SL and his neighbor's small Kia sedan, as well as his own Jeep Cherokee and Toyota pickup.

"It's something we'll have to work with and add to our budgets," he said as he tanked up his pickup for $2.99 a gallon in a Tampa station.

Not everyone found it as easy as McGriff to find gas.

The nozzles on all 16 pumps at a Chevron gas station on U.S. 41 in Land O'Lakes were covered in plastic Thursday afternoon.

A 7-Eleven Citgo on Cortez Boulevard near the Suncoast Parkway west of Brooksville had run out of gas by early Thursday afternoon. Employees said they had no idea when they would get more.

Dave Percival, owner of a BP franchise on Fourth Street N in St. Petersburg, said he had ordered 8,700 gallons of regular unleaded gas from his wholesaler on Monday evening.

When the delivery didn't arrive Wednesday as expected, Percival ran out of regular unleaded by 11 a.m. that day. He received a shipment Thursday morning, but only 2,500 gallons, with another 2,500 possibly coming Saturday.

"I hate where we're at right now," he said.

Some drivers found the disparity in pricing nearly as confusing and aggravating as the hikes themselves. Some stations held their prices for regular unleaded in the $2.70s while others nearby pushed the $3 mark.

A trio of state officials, including the governor, said they anticipate at least some of the hikes would qualify as price gouging.

"I don't understand every nook and cranny of the gasoline business, but if you change your prices three times in one day or two times in a day and it's the same gas you have in your tank, there is no justification for that," Gov. Bush said during an afternoon news conference.

Bronson said he was investigating 540 fuel price complaints. But he acknowledged uncertainty over just what prices stations should be charging.

The damage wrought by Katrina prompted the American Automobile Association to back away from its previous forecast of a record Labor Day travel weekend.

But most of the reduced travel volume is expected to stem directly from the loss of travelers affected by Katrina and the loss of popular destinations in those areas, such as the city of New Orleans, AAA Auto Club South spokesman Randy Bly said.

Otherwise, AAA still expects many Americans to hit the road this weekend.

Most visitors to Pinellas during this time of year come from the Tampa Bay area and Central Florida, so the impact might not be so severe, said Wit Tuttell, spokesman for the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Convention & Visitors Bureau. "This is the big weekend of fall, so we don't want to lose business," he said.

Drivers headed through the Panhandle and Georgia may find it slow going. Reports were commonplace of outages and even higher prices, including $6-a-gallon spotted at a Georgia station.

By Thursday afternoon, state crews were using the state's Amber Alert system along Interstate 10 to warn: "Limited fuel supplies west of Tallahassee." State leaders, even as they preached conservation, stopped short of asking people to alter their Labor Day travel plans.

In the short term, the problem isn't fuel supply: Florida still had 170-million gallons stored in ports on Thursday and another 231-million gallons expected over the next nine days. The state uses on average about 23-million gallons a day.

The obstacle is getting fuel transported to stations. Higher demand, particularly in the Panhandle from residents and evacuees, has left many stations dry.

Fuel should be available at gas stations over the next couple of weeks thanks to 21 ships expected to arrive in state ports in the next three days, state officials said.

Staff writers Steve Huettel, Abbie VanSickle, Jean Heller, Mary Spicuzza, James Thorner and Bill Coats contributed to this report, which also used information from Times wires.

[Last modified September 2, 2005, 02:15:35]