LANSING (WKZO-AM) — This came out of the blue. Gas prices have spiked and Gov. Rick Snyder has declared a state of energy emergency in Michigan through June 6 because of a potential problem with the state’s supply of gasoline as the Memorial Day weekend approaches.
A gas shortage has already resulted in a jump at the pump at most gas stations in the Great Lakes Basin.
Anna Heaton with the governor’s office says an unplanned outage at the Marathon Refinery in Detroit and the shutdown of a fuel pipeline in Wisconsin has created the potential for a crimp in available supplies.
Patrick DeHaan with GasBuddy.com says there is no shortage of crude, in fact there is more in storage now than there was at this time last year. Heaton says the problem may be refining it and transporting it to local gas stations at a time of peak demand.
It comes after being assured for much of the last two years that supplied were so plentiful that it was driving prices down to levels not seen in a decade.
The market has already adjusted to the potential crimp in the supply line by the hike in prices to $2.59 a gallon in some parts of the region.
DeHaan says that should cover the problem without an additional hike before the holiday. That’s still 19 cents lower than gas prices stood at this time last year on average.
The governor’s emergency declaration will allow truck drivers hauling gas to stations to spend more hours on the road than currently permitted. That should compensate for what could be long waits at fueling terminals.
DeHaan says the crimp and the trouble for truckers could be more critical in Ohio than Michigan.
The governor of Wisconsin has already issued a similar emergency declaration.
