BY: ZACH HARMUTH
Updated 6:50pm: Gov. Bill Haslam has declared a state of emergency to ensure an uninterrupted supply of fuel due to a burst gas pipeline in Alabama.
“This is a precautionary measure as we are not currently seeing any widespread unavailability of petroleum in Tennessee,” Haslam said in a release. “We urge Tennesseans to maintain their normal fuel purchasing and driving patterns to help prevent any potential impacts on our fuel supply while the pipeline undergoes repairs.”
A shut-down gasoline pipeline in Alabama has disrupted the supply of fuel in the South and along the east coast. Tennessee is among the states where shortages, or at least price increases, are expected.
The situation, however, seems to be coming under control.
“There is a break in a pipeline in Alabama, but there are two pipelines and they have converted the other one from diesel to gasoline, so deliveries are getting to Nashville like always, if maybe a little slower” said Mike Williams, executive director of the Tennessee Petroleum Council.
“There could be some spot problems, and slow deliveries to some stations, but the only thing that would really cause a problem is if everyone rushes out and gets gas at once. Everyone should just go about their normal pattern of filling up, and not rush out to top off their tanks.”
The Kroger Marketplace station in Thompson’s Station ran out of gas early Friday morning, but as of this afternoon had received its delivery, according to a store manager there.
Tennessee fuel wholesalers are also bringing in gas from other sources, according to a joint statement from the Tennessee Fuel and Convenience Store Association and Tennessee Grocers and Convenience Store Association.
It said gas will be brought to Nashville from Knoxville and Memphis.
“Tennessee has other sources for fuel in addition to the Colonial Pipeline,” said Emily LeRoy, executive director of TFCA, in a news release. “Tankers are just having to drive farther to get the fuel.”
Prices have not yet increased, up only a penny or two in the last week in states such as Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee, according to AAA.
But they could increase by 15 cents or more per gallon, according to GasBuddy.com analyst Patrick DeHaan, via Twitter.
The regional average on GasBuddy.com for Friday is at $2.11 per gallon, up from $2.075 on Thursday.
The pipeline operator said that based on its current projections, parts of Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina will be the first markets to suffer potential supply disruptions, according to a CNN.com report.
The governors of Alabama and Georgia have declared states of emergency.
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