78% of gas stations without fuel in region, gas prices rise above $3 nationally

WLOS — Across the state of North Carolina Wednesday morning, many pumps are dry. In the Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville-Anderson area, GasBuddy is reporting 78% of stations have no gasoline.

Nationally, the average price of gasoline rose to $3 a gallon for regular unleaded gas for the first time in nearly 7 years, according to GasBuddy Head of Petroleum Analysis Patrick De Haan. In North Carolina, the average sits at $2.85 a gallon.

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As of 3 p.m. Wednesday, 68% of North Carolina gas stations are without gasoline. That number was higher than neighboring states such as South Carolina (43%) and Virginia (44%).

Click here to follow GasBuddy's live updates on each state.

The Department of Transportation announced Tuesday night that they are allowing Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia to use Interstate highways in their State to transport overweight loads of gasoline and other fuels, under existing disaster declarations. And, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a second emergency fuel waiver expanding on a waiver that EPA issued Tuesday morning for the District of Columbia and areas of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The second waiver waives the requirements for low volatility conventional gasoline and Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) for the District of Columbia and areas of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and also includes Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Specific Counties of Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Gas Prices on the Rise

AAA forecasts gas prices to climb this week in reaction to the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline. “This shutdown will have implications on both gasoline supply and prices, but the impact will vary regionally. Areas including Mississippi, Tennessee and the east coast from Georgia into Delaware are most likely to experience limited fuel availability and price increases, as early as this week,” said Jeanette McGee, AAA spokesperson. “These states may see prices increase three to seven cents this week.”

The longer the pipeline is offline, the larger the impact on the east coast. However, foreign gasoline imports and other pipelines can supplement Northeastern supply. Other areas of the country will see little impact.

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Tips to Conserve Fuel

• Plan ahead to accomplish multiple errands in one trip, and whenever possible avoid high-traffic times of day.
• If you own more than one car, use the most fuel-efficient model that meets the needs of any given journey.
• Remove unnecessary and bulky items from your car. Minimize your use of roof racks and remove special carriers when not in use. It takes more fuel to accelerate a heavier car, and the reduction in fuel economy is greater for small cars than for larger models.
• Minimize your use of air conditioning. Even at highway speeds, open windows have less effect on fuel economy than the engine power required to operate the air conditioning compressor.
• In hot weather, park in the shade or use a windshield sunscreen to lessen heat buildup inside the car. This reduces the need for air conditioning (and thus fuel) to cool down the car.

The EPA has expanded a waiver on its regulations to include North Carolina. The waiver allows lower-grade fuel to the marketplace temporarily. The move is expected to help alleviate the fuel shortage. The Department of Transportation is allowing several states, including North Carolina, to use Interstates in their state to transport overweight loads of gasoline and other fuels, under existing disaster declarations.

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CLICK HERE to check out GasBuddy's fuel availability tracker app to find and report fuel if stations run out of gas in your area.

And, to check out gas prices in your area, CLICK HERE.

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