Gas Shortage Creeps Southward

Scattered gas stations from New Hampshire to Virginia are facing temporary shortages as the industry grapples with a transition to more ethanol-blended fuel.

Analysts and industry officials said occasional shortages are possible for another few weeks, though they emphasized that the problem has more to do with delivery schedules than a dearth of fuel. Empty pumps are not nearly as frequent as they were after Hurricane Katrina, which knocked out the electricity needed to run pipelines delivering fuel from the Gulf Coast to the rest of the country.

The supply hiccups have occurred as refiners stop using the gasoline additive methyl tertiary-butyl ether, or MTBE, and instead replace it with the more environmentally friendly fuel, ethanol, which in the U.S. is mainly derived from corn. MTBE has been found to contaminate groundwater and refiners are worried about costly lawsuits from municipalities.

“It pretty much caused the whole industry to stampede into the use of ethanol,” said Geoff Sundstrom, a spokesman for AAA’s national office.

AP