Is the Gas Rationing Rumor True?
I don’t know if anyone else has gotten a call from a friend or loved one this morning about this, but I have and I thought I’d pass it on.
Apparently, word is spreading that at the end of the day today, all the gas station are going to hike their prices to $4.50 a gallon and gas rationing will go into effect. As best I can find right now, that story is not entirely true.
What appears to be happening is that a couple or three stories are getting smashed together. Some gas stations in Florida and Texas have had to ration gas because of the rush on them due to Hurricane Ike. They only have so much gas and, since the hurricane is either about to hit, or has just passed, they can’t get any more for a couple days. That happens pretty routinely in cases of inclement weather that holds up routine gas deliveries.
The other story involves the company that owns Petro and Kangaroo gas stations in the Southeast. That company is asking its customers to voluntarily limit themselves to 10 gallons a visit to prevent the mad rush that happened shortly after Hurrican Katrina. That’s a reasonable precaution. Right now no other chain is doing it. No oil company is reporting any sort of shortage. Indeed, the CEO of the company asking for the voluntary rationing has said that supply is not in any great danger right now. His company is tring to get ahead of any potential problem, which isn’t a bad idea.
What’s also happening is that as stations are seeing people wanting to buy more gas all of the sudden, they’re sliding their prices upwards in accordance with the law of supply and demand. As folks rush in and draw down the gas the stations have on hand, that causes the prices to go up even more. Again, supply and demand.
If folks would calm down and understand that any interruption in gas deliveries won’t last more than a couple days, things would be just fine and the scary-high jump in gas prices won’t happen. If there is a panic, the phrase “self-fulfilling prophesy” will likely get some use.
Other Posts of Interest:
- Democrats Vote to Drive Gas Prices Higher
- Oil Prices Go the Way of Congress’ Approval Ratings.
- Nancy Pelosi’s Energy Policy Reads Like A Bad Last Minute Term Paper
Category: Featured, Thinking About Energy
