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Sticker shock at the pump

Skyrocketing prices lead to mad rush at stations

By JOHN MUNFORD
JOHN THOMPSON
and BETH SNIPES

Fayette’s great gas crisis of 2005 seemed to be dwindling by Thursday afternoon.

Just one day earlier, lines of vehicles waiting for gas extended onto adjacent roads and highways as Fayette residents scrambled to fill their tanks after hearing there would be problems with the gas pipelines that serve Georgia.

By 2 p.m. Thursday afternoon, however, only four of the 19 gas stations contacted by The Citizen reported they were completely out of gas. Another three stations reported they would likely be out of gas sometime Thursday unless a delivery truck happened by.

The lines at Fayette’s pumps were almost nonexistent Thursday.

“I think we’re on the downside of this if people won’t panic,” said Jay Wallace, the owner of Creekside Chevron on Ga. Highway 54 West in Peachtree City. His store ran out of gas around 4 p.m. Wednesday and received a delivery about 12:30 Thursday — two minutes after headquarters told him they didn’t know when he’d get a delivery, but the truck would be there when it gets there.

Thursday prices in Fayette County ranged from $3.14 a gallon at the Kwickie/Flash Foods in downtown Fayetteville at 340 Lanier Ave. to a high of $3.59 at the 92 Mini Mart at 1493 Ga. Highway 92 north.

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue approved price-gouging regulations Wednesday that call for a $5,000 per vehicle maximum fine for any gas station determined to be inflating prices to maximize profit, according to spokesperson Heather Hedrick.

Reports of price gouging at the pumps should be phoned to the Georgia Office of Consumer Affairs at 404-651-8600 or 1-800-869-1123. The governor’s office received “credible evidence” Wednesday that price gouging had occurred in parts of the state, officials said.

Early Wednesday evening, Perdue took to the airwaves to urge Georgians not to swamp the pumps and that the problems with gas deliveries would be short-lived.

In Coweta County Wednesday, residents got a hint of the day to come as they drove by the Hot Spot at the Coweta-Fayette line and noticed the price of regular gas at $3.25 a gallon for regular unleaded.

Thursday afternoon, the pipelines that deliver gas to Georgia were back up to 25 percent capacity, better than their previous status, according to a spokesperson for Gov. Perdue. The hurricane damaged some oil refineries in the Louisiana and Mississippi area and left them without power, according to officials.

Although many Fayette motorists waiting in line at the pumps Wednesday were cooperative and braved the long lines with their windows rolled up and air conditioning blasting, there were some hotheads out there, according to police accounts.

At some gas stations in Peachtree City, motorists screamed and yelled at each other, as police answered numerous calls of the resulting lines at the gas pumps blocking parts of local roads and highways, police said.

“I’ve never seen a bunch of people act so immature,” said Peachtree City Police Chief James Murray. “People are just overreacting to a situation when they didn’t need to.”

No significant gas-station related incidents were reported in Peachtree City, Fayetteville or unincorporated Fayette County, police said.

Brian Hallam of Peachtree City said that some motorists at the Flash Foods at Crosstown were yelling at each other around 4 p.m.

“I’m just glad I’m not in Mississippi,” Hallam said. “What those people are going through is unheard of and my heart goes out to them. It just makes me sick.”

Hallam said he felt fortunate to have a home to go to. Meanwhile, many Mississippi residents fleeing the storm are in two Atlanta area shelters being operated by the Red Cross.

Shannon Graham, owner of Graham’s BP, said just after 3 p.m. Wednesday that he had 15,000 gallons of gas when the business day started, but with a line of cars 10 deep waiting to get to the pumps, he didn’t expect to have gas much longer, guessing it would run out by 6 p.m.

“They say we have a 10-day supply in Atlanta, but with people buying gas like this way, there won’t be 10 days’ worth,” Graham said as he helped steer customers to pumps once they opened up. “It wouldn’t surprise me if sometime this week or this weekend, you won’t be able to buy gas.”

In Senoia, Crook’s Hit and Run convenience store owner Ellis Crook said Wednesday was a day for the ages.

“I was out there helping direct traffic in and out with a Senoia police officer,” he said.

Crook’s store started out the door selling gas at $2.69 a gallon for regular unleaded. By mid-morning, the pumps were empty and he later received another delivery. In just a few hours, the wholesale price had jumped and Crook was forced to increase the price to $3.19.

By late afternoon, the store quickly became crowded with customers who heard he had gas.

“We had all those pilots driving over here from Peachtree City to fill up their cars,” he said.

Crook only had one incident where a customer got a little too angry and he had to remove him from the store.

By Thursday, it was back to business as normal and no lines were found at the pumps.

One report of a dispute at a gas station was reported in unincorporated Fayette County, but no arrests were made after deputies responded, said Lt. Col. Bruce Jordan of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department.

Peachtree City officials caught off guard by the temporary gas shortage, and Wednesday afternoon public works and other departments were extremely limited in terms of driving capability, according to Mayor Steve Brown. Fuel was conserved for use by the police department; fire trucks which run on diesel were not affected.

Thursday, the Fayette County School Board agreed to help fuel Peachtree City’s vehicles until the city could get its next gas delivery, officials said.

In addition to the price-gouging regulations, Gov. Perdue also convinced federal officials to allow tanker trucks to travel in Georgia 24 hours a day, circumventing environmental regulations. Also, the state has received a steady stream of gas from barges coming in to port in Savannah, Hedrick said.

The state has also waived the requirement for cleaner fuel to burn in the summer months. That requirement would have expired Sept. 15 anyway, Hedrick noted.

Another change, allowing lower vapor pressure gasoline to be sold, allows more gasoline to be made from the same amount of crude oil compared to high-pressure gasoline, according to Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin.

Irvin’s office regulates the sale of gasoline at pumps throughout the state, and he warned gas station owners Thursday about “bait-and-switch tactics” such as posting one gas price and then selling for another price.

“While sellers of gasoline do not have to post their prices on the street, they are required to make sure the prices advertised match the price charged at the pump,” Irvin said.

Any consumers noticing bait-and-switch tactics are asked to contact the Georgia Department of Agriculture at 1-800-282-5852 or tirvin@agr.state.ga.us.

The price-gouging statue authorized by Perdue does not prevent price increases tied to the market cost of the goods or services offered by a retailer.

Staff writers Michael Boylan and Monroe Roark contributed to this report.