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WJeffrey
Guest
I live in New England. During the past 36 hours, gas prices have uniformly risen $0.40 per gallon throughout the city where I live. 
Have you had a similar experience? 
Have you had a similar experience? 
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pensmama87
Guest
This can happen if taxes go up or if there’s a sudden change in supplier prices. Where my parents live, there was a strike a couple years ago that caused a significant increase in gas prices (rival supplier had no competition.)I live in New England. During the past 36 hours, gas prices have uniformly risen $0.40 per gallon throughout the city where I live.
It definitely stinks. But I think that significant of an increase that quickly probably has some cause, and there might be news about it.
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oldgraymare2
Guest
Yes.
I live in Wisconsin, and they’ve gone up about 25 cents a gallon now.
Editing to add that I had the radio on this morning and there was talk on it about gas prices going up due to the hurricane affecting the oil refineries down south.
I had the radio on in the background so wasn’t totally paying attention to the discussion.
I live in Wisconsin, and they’ve gone up about 25 cents a gallon now.
Editing to add that I had the radio on this morning and there was talk on it about gas prices going up due to the hurricane affecting the oil refineries down south.
I had the radio on in the background so wasn’t totally paying attention to the discussion.
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lifeisbeautiful
Guest
We all filled up our tanks earlier today: nbcdfw.com/news/local/Shutdown-Oil-Refineries-Send-Gas-Prices-Surging-in-North-Texas-442311273.html
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Xantippe
Guest
Well, we live in TX (not Houston) and the last time I bought gas, the cheap grade of unleaded was sold out. Apparently, that’s true in a number of locations.I live in New England. During the past 36 hours, gas prices have uniformly risen $0.40 per gallon throughout the city where I live.
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pnewton
Guest
That much is not gouging so much as it is the market responding to a shortfall. The only other solution is rationing, at least in the long run. The gouging that is going on in Texas is more than just a sharp increase. One place was selling gas at $20 a gallon. That’s gouging.
People that pay these prices are mostly people who did not prepare at all, or who panic and think shortages will last longer than they will. I expect gas to go up about 50% for the next few months, maybe more.
People that pay these prices are mostly people who did not prepare at all, or who panic and think shortages will last longer than they will. I expect gas to go up about 50% for the next few months, maybe more.
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pnewton
Guest
So, we have a 20% of gasoline refining in the country shut down. They will be up again soon and the reserves will cover most of it. On the other hand, the port has to be up to get more oil in. But even then, we have close by huge strategic reserves that could be used and then refilled. This is a transient issue. If it doubles the price of gas, then maybe that’s not so bad in the long run. We have lost our sense of conservation. We could use economic pressure to buy smaller cars and combine trips.
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Tantum_ergo
Guest
From what I heard on the news, apparently a pipeline that runs from Texas to New Jersey, and supplies 40% of all fuel for the East coast, has shut down.
And of course there are problems with refineries, there is a huge demand for gas for people trying to get out of Texas (at least temporarily), and what gas there is now has to be shared between a lot more people for some time to come.
Prayers for Texas and all the people who are suffering. Gas price jumps can be a nuisance to a nightmare, depending on one’s needs and finances, but having seen and experienced floods that were far less than Harvey and were costly, stressful, and far-reaching, and imagining that multiplied a hundredfold, my heart goes out to those who stand to lose far more, far longer, than the majority of us who are going to have our pockets pinched. We might have to cut out some comforts for a while but we’ll still have roofs over our heads, personal items like family pictures, clothes, books, and above all our families. . .but so many will be coming ‘home’ to condemned buildings, a lifetime’s worth of pictures, gifts, mementos that might not be worth $$ but mean the world when it’s 'Grandma’s quilt that she made for me 40 years ago" or 'the picture of Uncle Joe who died in Korea, and the box with his Bronze Star" or the christening gown that has been passed through generations,. . .all gone, bills coming due, trying to find shelter, trying to get back to one’s job if it has managed to remain in all the chaos, with hundreds of thousands of other people trying to do the same, and then for some, even worse when there is no family to come home TO, like the children who were lost with their great-grandparents, or the baby who was found clinging to her drowned mother. . .what a sad, sad situation.
And of course there are problems with refineries, there is a huge demand for gas for people trying to get out of Texas (at least temporarily), and what gas there is now has to be shared between a lot more people for some time to come.
Prayers for Texas and all the people who are suffering. Gas price jumps can be a nuisance to a nightmare, depending on one’s needs and finances, but having seen and experienced floods that were far less than Harvey and were costly, stressful, and far-reaching, and imagining that multiplied a hundredfold, my heart goes out to those who stand to lose far more, far longer, than the majority of us who are going to have our pockets pinched. We might have to cut out some comforts for a while but we’ll still have roofs over our heads, personal items like family pictures, clothes, books, and above all our families. . .but so many will be coming ‘home’ to condemned buildings, a lifetime’s worth of pictures, gifts, mementos that might not be worth $$ but mean the world when it’s 'Grandma’s quilt that she made for me 40 years ago" or 'the picture of Uncle Joe who died in Korea, and the box with his Bronze Star" or the christening gown that has been passed through generations,. . .all gone, bills coming due, trying to find shelter, trying to get back to one’s job if it has managed to remain in all the chaos, with hundreds of thousands of other people trying to do the same, and then for some, even worse when there is no family to come home TO, like the children who were lost with their great-grandparents, or the baby who was found clinging to her drowned mother. . .what a sad, sad situation.
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pensmama87
Guest
You know, I feel really stupid because I didn’t even connect this to the hurricane. :doh2: But yeah, that definitely makes sense!
We have made an effort to really cut back on our gas consumption (as part of an overall budget reduction strategy.) We have a minivan due to our family size but it doesn’t get driven much. Even if the price jumps, our monthly gas expenditures only go up a couple dollars total. That didn’t use to be the case, and I worried a lot more about it when my husband was commuting 40 minutes with no reasonable ability to use public transit.
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Allegra
Guest
Ours has gone up nearly 50 cents a gallon, but I don’t really consider it gouging. I lived in Kansas City during 9/11 and there were gas stations trying to sell gas for upwards of $5 a gallon. There’s no need for that. A 50 cent rise for a few weeks isn’t that big a deal to us. I’m just thankful we aren’t dealing with what the folks down in Texas are dealing with.
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Xantippe
Guest
Remember $4 gas?
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GEddie
Guest
Prices are high owing to the damage done by Hurricane Harvey, and presumably the effect is worse in the Northeastern Corridor owing to higher demand.
It should return to near old-normal as the Houston coast dries out, but if long-term damage has been done, that may take longer than expected.
ICXC NIKA
It should return to near old-normal as the Houston coast dries out, but if long-term damage has been done, that may take longer than expected.
ICXC NIKA
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MSSheBear
Guest
Yes. I remember $4.50 a gallon gas. Our state is going to add a new tax too.
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pnewton
Guest
BTW - I just read where the ports of Houston, Galveston, Texas City and Freeport are re-opened, at least partially. If oil can come in, it shouldn’t take too long to get refineries back up. Now south of here, between Palacios and Corpus Christi, it may take considerably longer to get up.
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Viki63
Guest
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oldgraymare2
Guest
We used to have two cars, but I started to become more ill and we gave up the other one.
We had no choice but to buy a new car when our other one was hit and wrecked in an accident a few years ago.
We used to have a larger car, and then when that car was wrecked, we went back to a smaller more economical car, as my husband drives a really long commute to work each day.
He drives over a hundred miles round trip, and the gas mileage and cost with a smaller car does make a difference again.
There isn’t any reasonable public transportation for him to get to work, either.
We also combine errands and shopping, so that there isn’t a waste of gas, either.
My husband will usually stop on his way home from work to pick things up for us if we need anything too, so that he/we don’t have to make any extra trips for anything.
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magnusbar
Guest
Where I am they sell gas for $7.5 a gallon!
For a student like me every filling hurts.
For a student like me every filling hurts.
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pianistclare
Guest
Amen. Perspective. Praying for all affected, including the responders.
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UbiCaritas
Guest
Part of the issue is that a) a number of the refineries themselves were damaged, b) many of their workers evacuated/have had their homes totally destroyed, and c) given the conditions in Houston at the moment (let’s just say that construction workers are at a premium now and for the foreseeable future), it could be months before some of those refineries are able to start up again.
Believe me, we here in Houston aren’t exactly thrilled with the current set of circumstances, either.
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esieffe
Guest
Same here in the Atlanta area. Overnight.I live in New England. During the past 36 hours, gas prices have uniformly risen $0.40 per gallon throughout the city where I live.
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