Panic buying hits S.Ga. gas stations
May 11—VALDOSTA — If there are long lines at the pumps in the South Georgia area, it's because of panic buying and not fuel shortages, a AAA spokesperson said Tuesday.
The Colonial Pipeline, which delivers about 45% of the fuel consumed on the East Coast, was hit by a cyberattack Friday. In such events, the attackers often encrypt files or entire computers belonging to the victim, rendering them useless until a ransom is paid.
Colonial Pipeline, headquartered in Alpharetta, had restored some fuel delivery Tuesday, but the main artery of the pipeline remained shut down. Colonial said Monday it anticipates most service will be restored by the end of the week.
Long lines could be seen Monday evening and still Tuesday at some gas retailers in Valdosta.
Montrae Waiters, AAA spokesperson, said there had been no reports yet of fuel shortages in the Valdosta area, though other parts of Georgia were having difficulties, including parts of Atlanta and Roswell.
"Panic buying is contributing more to outages than anything else," she said.
At least one fuel company reported problems making deliveries related to the pipeline incident.
"Circle K is seeing some disruption to fuel deliveries due to the ongoing issues with Colonial Pipeline," said Chris Barnes, Circle K's director of communications. "We are continuing to work with our suppliers to identify and secure alternative sources and regret any inconvenience to our customers."
The price of gasoline spiked in Lowndes County overnight. Waiters said Valdosta's average price for a gallon of gasoline at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday was $2.85, an increase of seven cents in 24 hours.
"Seven cents is not that drastic, really," she said.
Georgia's statewide average Tuesday was $2.87 per gallon, up 11 cents in 24 hours, she said.
The last time prices jumped so much so quickly was in 2016, Waiters said, and again it was due to the Colonial Pipeline: in that instance, a fire knocked the pipeline out of commission.
Tuesday, Gov. Brian Kemp suspended state taxes on motor fuels through Saturday. Georgia collects a gasoline tax of 28.7 cents per gallon and a diesel tax of 32.2 cents per gallon.
Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.
