Expect a big jump in gasoline prices

[REWahoo]

Restarting Texas’ damaged refineries is going to take weeks

Four of the largest refineries in Texas are discovering widespread damage from the deep freeze that crippled the state and expect to be down for weeks of repairs, raising the potential for prolonged fuel shortages that could spread across the country.

And you folks who don't live in Texas thought you'd escaped any fallout from the big freeze...

 

[W2R]

Restarting Texas’ damaged refineries is going to take weeks



And you folks who don't live in Texas thought you'd escaped any fallout from the big freeze...

Thanks for letting us know!

It won't affect me too much (since I don't drive much and only spent $307 on gas for all of 2020) but it may affect others here.

Last night we had a freeze warning but it didn't freeze. I stayed up until 3:30 AM waiting for it to drop below freezing, so I could feel justified in dripping the faucets. But it never did. No I am not disappointed, that's for sure! And then today the weather was gorgeous, with sunny blue skies and 54F. Let's hope this cold spell is behind us.

 

[foxfirev5]

The least of Texas problems as far as I can tell. But I'll let that go. You reap what you sow. I'll take the consequences of higher fuel prices as I mitigated that one awhile back.

 

[grasshopper]

My Circle K went from $2.19 to 2.59 from the last time I bought gas.

 

[Walt34]

While we're not quite as frugal with gasoline as W2R we're probably not far behind. I do have a big ol' full size 4WD GMC pickup truck I often have to make a point to drive once a week just to get it out of the garage so I fill that up about once every two or three months. The Honda Accord is the "daily driver" but it'd be a stretch to say we drive it daily, more like every third or fourth day on average, especially now in the winter. It gets almost twice the mileage of the GMC.

So we won't notice an increase in gasoline prices much if at all.

 

[ivinsfan]

The least of Texas problems as far as I can tell. But I'll let that go. You reap what you sow. I'll take the consequences of higher fuel prices as I mitigated that one awhile back.

Seriously

 

[rk911]

here in NE IL we've seen a steady rise in pump prices since January. we also do not drive much these days.

 

[Bamaman]

We just got a new Toyota Venza SUV that's a hybrid with AWD. Around town, we're averaging 39.5 mpg so fuel prices don't bother us much.

Fuel price increases are tough on the entry level workers of the U.S.

 

[W2R]

We just got a new Toyota Venza SUV that's a hybrid with AWD. Around town, we're averaging 39.5 mpg so fuel prices don't bother us much.

Fuel price increases are tough on the entry level workers of the U.S.

Congratulations on your new hybrid Venza!

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

What is this substance you call gasoline?

 

[audreyh1]

Restarting Texas’ damaged refineries is going to take weeks



And you folks who don't live in Texas thought you'd escaped any fallout from the big freeze...

We were able to fill up at HEB today with minimal lines, unlike the last few days when so many fuel stations had no power. And as we left the grocery store we saw a big tanker pull in to the gas station.

HEB shelves in the refrigerated produce section were almost completely bare. Did score some TX brown shrimp though. No eggs or milk/dairy anywhere.

 

[Another Reader]

Congratulations on your new hybrid Venza!

Is this your next purchase? Gotta blow some of that dough...

 

[W2R]

Is this your next purchase? Gotta blow some of that dough...

I drive so little (and therefore use so little gas), that it does not seem logical for me to buy a hybrid. Don't know what (if any) my next car will be. You're right, I should blow that dough at some point.

 

[NW-Bound]

I bought a new car on Jan 4. Yesterday, on a grocery errand I saw that the odometer read 320 mi, after almost 6 weeks. The dealership filled it up, and I still have 1/4 tank left. If I keep this up, that's 2,700 mi/year of driving.

No, gasoline price is not one of my concerns. Not until I take my 8-mpg motorhome for a 10,000-mi trip. Even then, if I survived Canadian gas prices, particularly in the Yukon, I should be able to handle anything less.

PS. Once I got to Alaska, gas prices there were often less than in California.

 

[Sunset]

How Ironic, just today I was thinking I'll need gas in a couple of weeks.
I find I'm filling the van every 4 weeks now that we are taking DD to doctor a lot.

Our other car does 500 miles per year, so it won't need a fill for months.

 

[RobbieB]

Yup, $3.50 / gal here. Not something I worry about.

 

[Popeye]

That article gave me flashbacks. Every one of the companies mentioned were our customers at Megacorp. I dealt with folks at all of them over the years. I hope they weren’t damaged too badly. Lots of good people there.

 

[Dtail]

It appears many folks here don't drive much in retirement. We put on 11k miles yearly for 2 cars and it has been fairly consistent over 3 years irrespective of gas prices.

 

[braumeister]

It appears many folks here don't drive much in retirement. We put on 11k miles yearly for 2 cars and it has been fairly consistent over 3 years irrespective of gas prices.

Over the past 30 years I've averaged around 24K miles a year. But over the past one year it has been just under 13K. We did three major road trips last summer, or it would have been much lower.

 

[Aerides]

Thanks for the heads up. If I fill up today I'm good till things are back to normal!

 

[aja8888]

Last years driving/walking:

Van - 12,000 miles, mostly around here.

Mustang Convertible - 800 miles.

My feet - average of about 9,000 steps per day.

Gasoline is about $2.00 gallon most stations.

 

[Car-Guy]

Still driving (and loving) my gas guzzlers... On a good day I can get as much as 15+mpg on my truck and 17+mpg on my SUV... SUV requires premium too and can drop to ~10mpg under some conditions. My total miles driven dropped last year to about 35k because I didn't take as many long trips due to Covid... $3+ gas won't change my driving habits at all....I'm not sure even doubling that price would slow me down either. Just another way to blow that dough.

From my POV, gas is cheaper today (inflation adjusted) than it was when I started driving in the late 60''s

Yesterday I was in our little local town and noticed about half of the gas stations were still closed because of the weather or power outages. The ones that were open had cars filling up but no lines.

 

[Jerry1]

Same as others. Of course I’m not happy about gas prices increasing, my driving is so little that it’s just not a big hit to the budget. Especially with COVID, we are hardly driving these days.

 

[Midpack]

I hadn’t thought of that, but I’m sure it’s true. Gas is $2.499/gal here today, was under $2/gal a couple of weeks ago.

My sister is in San Antonio, and it’s been tough there, thankfully she’s fared better than most.

 

[zinger1457]

The concern for me with gas prices going up is that propane prices usually track closely with it and propane is what I use to heat my house, cooking, hot water, etc. Got a promo offer from Ferrellgas for propane that's good through the end of the month, it was given out before the storm hit, hope they still honor it.