East Coast blackouts result in hiked gas prices
Published Aug. 26, 2003
Power outrages in the eastern United States earlier this month affected gas prices throughout the nation and Missouri. The blackouts closed petroleum refineries and caused gas prices to soar.
The St. Louis gas price average jumped 22 cents a gallon after the blackouts, and the national average jumped 15 cents.
On Friday, the average gas price in St. Louis was $1.64" in Columbia, it was $1.56, said Michael Right, AAA Missouri vice president.
The national average was higher at $1.72, according to Lundberg Survey, an independent market research company specializing in the petroleum market.
Although there were no power outages in Missouri related to the massive blackout, the outrage affected the states'the state's gas consumers.
"Blackouts at refineries in Ohio and Michigan affected the overall availability of gas and put a noticeable increase on demand at (working refineries)," Right said.
Gas prices were also boosted by a near-record-low inventory and an increase in overall demand, Right said.
As MU students traveled around mid-Missouri, they felt the effects of the price increase.
"The prices make me mad," freshman Joe Winters said. "I stopped at a station near Lexington on Friday and paid $1.79. It sucks."
Although prices are higher now than in past weeks, Right said prices are generally lower than they have been in recent years.
"People are paying less now than in previous summers," he said. "The average price in Columbia was $1.79 in June of 2000."
Gas prices cannot be predicted, Right said.
"Who would have predicted prices in St. Louis would have gone up 22 cents a gallon?" he said.
However, Right said prices typically decline after Labor Day when summer travel ends.