Hurricane Ike spurs run on gas

As Hurricane Ike bore down on the Gulf Coast on Friday, drivers clogged Triangle gas stations, many leaving stunned and angered by prices close to $5 a gallon.

Making it worse somehow, the increase came just as drivers were experiencing their first relief from this summer's $4-a-gallon highs. On Thursday, gas prices in the Triangle averaged $3.69 for a gallon of regular. By midday Friday, prices were as high as $4.79 a gallon.

And the worst news is that it's likely not over yet.

If Hurricane Ike does major damage to the refineries on the Gulf Coast or the pipeline that carries gas to North Carolina, prices could continue to climb.

But the prices Friday were bad enough for most, especially since Ike hadn't even touched U.S. land.

"I was in Fayetteville yesterday, and it was $3.63 and $3.69," Cecil Bowden said. The retiree from Angier said he felt gas companies were unfairly gouging.

"It's taking advantage of people," he said. "It makes me feel like I'm being robbed."

In response to an outcry from consumers, Gov. Mike Easley declared an "abnormal market disruption" under North Carolina law, which prohibits stations from charging "unreasonably excessive" prices and gives the attorney general the authority to investigate claims of price gouging.

In other areas of the country, prices topped $5 a gallon, and some states, including Arkansas and Kentucky, declared states of emergency.

Gas companies said they are not gouging customers and face their own price pressures.

"I know what it looks like, but that isn't what it is," said Haddon Clark, whose United Energy Inc. is the Raleigh company that owns 50 Han-Dee Hugo gas stations.

Raleigh area Han-Dee Hugo stores raised their prices to $4.79 a gallon around midday. Clark said he was still selling it below his cost of $5.30 a gallon.

"I had two options," he said. "I could either close the sites down, or I could buy the expensive gas. ... I thought I'd be better offering my customers something than nothing, and that's what I did."

The problem, gas companies and supplier say, is that Hurricane Ike is coming on the heels of Hanna and Gustav, which had already sapped the gas reserves along the supply chain that feeds the Southeast. Making matters worse, several oil refineries in the Gulf of Mexico were shut down in preparation for Ike, and on Friday, shipments from Colonial Pipeline, which feeds much of the area, were effectively shut down as suppliers stopped sending gas.

Even large operators, which usually benefit from contracts that ensure them gas at a particular price, were affected.

At The Pantry's more than 1,600 stores in 11 states, about 6 percent had a supply shortage during the day, said CEO Pete Sodini. Most were able to have their supplies replenished, he said.

On average, Sodini said, his wholesale gas prices rose 15 cents to 40 cents a gallon overnight, though he did see some increases as high as $1.60 a gallon.

The Pantry tried to ward off panic buying on Thursday by placing signs on pumps asking people to buy only 10 gallons of gas.

But by Friday, many drivers were rushing the pumps anyway.

"My mom called me about four minutes ago and told me to fill up," said Jennifer Garr, a 20-year-old from Winston-Salem who is studying biology at N.C. State University. "She said it was $4.99 at home, and they said on the radio that it would be $6.50 tomorrow."

Lines at the pump grow

Over the course of the day, gas prices in the Triangle rose quickly, causing more of a panic and longer lines as the day wore on.

At 9 a.m., some Triangle stations were charging $3.99 for a gallon of regular unleaded in reaction to the shutdown of refineries in the Gulf on Thursday.