Governer urges drivers not to overreact to gas shortage

ATLANTA - For the second time in less than two months, a major gasoline pipeline that feeds Georgia is shut down.  Governor Nathan Deal urged consumers Wednesday not to panic.

"I am hopeful that the hysteria associated with the prospect of fuel being in short supply will not take effect, because that's what we see happen in events like this, which we saw happen several weeks ago," explained Deal. "Everybody is afraid that the price is [going to] spike.  Everybody's afraid that there will be a shortage.  So, therefore you fill up every vehicle you have, every container that you have just in case those things happen.  I think if we can avoid that kind of hysteria, we will not see any price spikes, because those kind of spikes are based on demand." 

The governor said employees within his office have kept in close contact with Colonial and others in the industry to monitor the situation.  The company hopes to have the pipeline repaired and reopened Saturday.

"If we can get the main pipeline in operation by Saturday, the jobbers indicate to us that there will not be any shortages at all and that's what we're hoping for," Deal explained.

So far, gas prices have risen $0.10 to $0.20 in Georgia.

Andy Milton is the senior vice president of supply for Mansfield Oil, a distributor based in Gainesville.  He said pipeline interruptions are part of the business and usually do not interrupt supply to the public, but problems this large have a significant impact.  He expects, however, that things will return to normal more quickly than they did in September, when Colonial had a leak that forced the shutdown of the pipeline.

"I would expect prices to go back down within the following weeks," Milton explained.