Gas prices are surging.
The Colonial Pipeline shutdown has led to a bump in gas prices this week, as panicked drivers have pumped thousands of stations dry. The price jump can be felt at the national level, as the AAA auto group reported that gas prices breached $3 per gallon for the first time in seven years Wednesday. But data from the real-time fuel price app GasBuddy shows that the pain is most acutely felt in the South, where prices in some states rose by almost 10 percent.
Prices have risen the most in Georgia, where the average price of a gallon jumped from $2.67 on May 1 to $2.90 Wednesday.
Prices rose sharply beginning May 10, two days after the pipeline shutdown began.
The pipeline will restart operations Wednesday afternoon, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm announced Wednesday. The Department of Energy has urged drivers to be patient and only purchase fuel when needed.
