North Carolina’s gas shortage could be nearing its end as a bypass to lessen the effects of the initial leak has been completed, according to a press release from Colonial Pipeline.
The state has been experiencing extensive strain on travel over the weekend following a fuel leak in the Alabama segment of a pipeline which serves fuel to much of the East Coast.
Colonial Pipeline plans to restart the pipeline on Wednesday, though it will be a few more days before it returns to normal operations.
The Colonial Pipeline, which runs from Houston to New York through North Carolina, has lost 250,000 gallons of fuel as a result of the leak, according to ABC11.
Many gas stations are struggling to meet demands and they are having to either raise prices or limit distribution to high grade fuel only.
Since Friday, the North Carolina attorney general’s office received 1,145 reports of potential price gouging in the state, with 189 of those reports coming from within the Triangle.
So far this week, five subpoenas have been issued against stations selling gas at $3.99 or more, according to a press release by the NCAGO.
Gas prices have increased an average of 10 cents in the Triangle area since Friday, according to ABC11.
“A supply crunch shouldn’t be an excuse to rip off people who need gas,” said Attorney General Roy Cooper. “We’re following up on consumers’ reports and taking action to investigate possible price gouging.”
North Carolina’s price gouging law does not list a specific measure for when a station has charged too much for gas, only prohibiting stations from raising the price of gas “with the knowledge and intent to charge a price that is unreasonably excessive under the circumstances.”
Gov. Pat McCrory asked the State Emergency Response Team to coordinate with county leadership to address fuel needs, according to ABC11.
For those that want to know what stations have gas, the GasBuddy app lists stations that are currently selling fuel.