Gas panic spreads to Chicago area
CHICAGO - Despite the beginnings of a panic-buy induced shortage, there shouldn't be a problem filling up your gas tank.
The Colonial Pipeline is back in service, which supplies fuel to nearly half of the East Coast.
Over the past few days, folks have gone into panic mode, hoping they don’t run out of gas.
There was a long line to gas up early Wednesday at Costco in Lincoln Park, even though there are no reports of gas shortage here locally.
Some folks are still in fear.
"I have a lot of family in the south in Georgia. They’ve been calling me, telling me to fill up on gas. They’re buying gas tanks to fill up on gas – seen people hoarding gas," said one gas station customer, Dustin Brumfield.
More than 1,000 gas stations along the East Coast are without fuel.
This happened after the Colonial Pipeline shut down last week after a cyberattack.
The pipeline does not supply fuel to Chicago, and experts say the panic is unnecessary.
"You are seeing supplies of gasoline disrupted in some places, no reasons for Chicagoans to panic, it’s silly," said Phil Flynn, a senior mark analyst and author.
In terms of prices at the pump, there is certainly an increase. The national gas price average jumped six cents in recent days.
If trends continue, AAA says the national average price of gas climb to the highest it has been since 2014.
The company reportedly said its pipeline would not be fully functional immediately, and it could take several days before its delivery supply returns to normal.