CASEY COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Fears of gas shortages due to a 5,500 pipeline being shut down are causing problems in Kentucky.
Experts say the shutdown of the pipeline won't have much of an impact on Kentucky gas prices, but that hasn't stopped people in Casey County from trying to hoard gas.
The Dairy Mart in Liberty was out of gas for several hours due to skyrocketing demand on Tuesday. Another business down the street capped sales at $20. Now, prices in Kentucky have gone up and are just under $3 in this area, but experts say that is mostly due to seasonal reasons and pent up demand as people gear up to travel for the first time after being cooped up in the house all year. However, it appears news about the pipeline has spooked consumers.
"I had this one customer, he came in and gave me $40 and then he came back with another $15. We're probably going to run out," Daily Mart Employee Miranda Summers said. "If we don't run out today, we're definitely going to run out tomorrow and we're going to need another delivery."
Experts say there is no fuel shortage and the last thing you should do is panic buy gas because that could lead to shortages and price hikes. Meanwhile, at the Dairy Mart, the station sold $14,000 worth of fuel today, nearly three times as much as an average day.
