Gas prices jumped 5 centsovernight in Virginia, and they're expected to keep rising. That’s because flooding in Texas has caused officials to shut down a major pipeline running gas from the Gulf Coast, to the East Coast.
AAA doesn’t predict gas shortages in the region, but analysts do expect prices to jump by as much as 25 cents a gallon. The Colonial Pipeline is the primary provider of gasoline for this region, and was shut down because of tropical storm Harvey.
“We don’t know how much damage has been done to the refineries, we don’t know how much damage has been done to infrastructure,” explains Martha Mead with AAA Mid-Atlantic.
She says the unknowns mean prices could go even higher.
“Other things impacting their ability to restart will be whether employees can get to the platforms to work, and whether the product can be shipped out,” says Mead.
The good news is that gas inventory nationwide is at a 5 year high, and Virginia has already started to pull extra supply from the Northeast.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
