Gas prices are up five cents since Friday in Virginia and are likely to continue to rise this week due to an early September leak in the Colonial Pipeline, the major source of gas for this area.
Line 1 of the pipeline runs from Houston, Texas to Greensboro, North Carolina and can carry 1.2 million barrels of gasoline per day. As a result of the leak and downtime for the repair, Colonial Pipeline announced over the weekend that it would construct a temporary pipeline to bypass the section of the line that is damaged. According to Colonial, the bypass would allow gasoline deliveries to impacted areas to resume by the end of the week.
In the interim, as supply channels for gas coming into Virginia are disrupted, gas prices are likely to continue to increase by up to approximately 20 cents per gallon. “Gas price increases in Virginia that are resulting from the Colonial Pipeline issue will likely be temporary as prices should return to more seasonal levels as soon as the pipeline issue is resolved,” said Tammy Arnette, Senior Public Affairs Specialist for AAA Mid-Atlantic.
The answer to just how short lived the uptick in prices will last is ultimately dependent on how long it takes for the alternate pipeline to be completed and/or the repair work on the original line to be done. AAA will continue to monitor the situation and keep motorists informed as changes occur.
Today the average price for gasoline is $2.03 per gallon in the Commonwealth.
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Chris Graham
