Officials urge public against hoarding gas

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.- Following up on a story from yesterday, gas is not running out. But some local residents are filling up their gas tanks to be cautious. 

The Colonial Pipeline, which delivers fuel to the East Coast was shut down due to a cyber attack. The United States Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, has said there is no serious concern for a gasoline shortage given that the pipeline is expected to be substantially operational by the end of this week. She said the problems begin when people start hoarding gas. 

Gas in Kentucky has not been greatly impacted by the shutdown, but gas prices have increased. The Shell gas station off of Lovers Lane on Wednesday has seen about a 10-cent increase – from $2.69 last week to now $2.79. 

Local residents there Wednesday said they wanted to be safe rather than sorry. 

“We were in Glasgow last night and there were places running out of gas already. It’s crazy. I think if everybody didn’t hoard it up we might be in better shape. It’s like toilet paper, you gotta get it,” said resident Sean Jordan. 

“I saw the lines on the news of gas lines so I just thought, you know, I’m leaving here today and I have a meeting right across the street and even though I have a half a tank I’m gonna go ahead and fill up,” said resident Rina Malmquist. 

Officials encourage people to only get the gas that they need so others are able to get their gas and decrease the odds of a shortage.