Virginia gas prices climb 11 cents in a week

Virginia has had some of the highest average gas price hikes nationwide since last week rising 11 cents per gallon on average compared to a week ago, due to an early September leak in the Colonial Pipeline.

Georgia, one of the hardest hit areas, had the highest gas price hikes this week at 28 cents per gallon on average.

Colonial Pipeline anticipates that Line 1 could restart as early as today, though it will take several days for the fuel delivery supply chain to return to normal. While a restart of Line 1 will offer some relief in supply, Oil Price Information Service (OPIS), reports it will take time for resupply to reach the hardest hit locations. Early indications from OPIS are that it will take 10-15 days for “bagged pumps” to disappear and it is possible that supply levels may not return to normal until early October.

The biggest supply problems are for independent or unbranded gas stations who are scrambling to find a supplier who will sell them gasoline. Recent reports from OPIS say that unbranded marketers are paying as much as 40 cents more per gallon of gasoline to keep their stations supplied.  Branded marketers are not as vulnerable to low supply levels but are still being impacted.  Marketers for these brands are currently limited to purchasing less than 100% of their initial gas contract volume (in some cases 50%), which means they are not able to supply stations at full capacity.

States that may continue to see tighter supply and higher gas prices this week include: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

“Gas prices in Virginia rose 11 cents per gallon on average in a week and will likely continue to rise until the pipeline issue is fully resolved,” said Tammy Arnette, Senior Public Affairs Specialist for AAA. “AAA will continue to monitor the situation and keep motorists informed as changes occur.”