By BJ Austin, KERA Reporter
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Dallas, TX – Gasoline prices in Texas are much higher this week . after Hurricane Ike tore thru the Gulf and slammed into the coast. KERA's BJ Austin says Triple-A reports a 14 cent increase since Friday that's up four percent in just three days.
Triple A reports a gallon of gasoline in Texas is going for an average $3.68 a gallon. On Friday, before Hurricane Ike hit the coast, average price was 14 cents less, at $3.54. Jim Ervin, with Triple A Texas says the higher prices are here to stay for a while. He says 20% of US refining capacity is on the Texas coast and temporarily out of service. But he stops short of calling it a crisis.
Ervin: As long as we don't panic buy - which means you don't stop by every gas station and fill up the car when it's a penny cheaper than down the street buy responsibly, only buy when you need the gas. If we end up buying a whole lotta gas a little bit at a time, that's going to deplete the supplies that we have.
Ervin says those gas supplies are also at the lowest levels since in 7 years. Texarkana has the highest average price after Hurricane Ike $3.81 per gallon, but that's still three cents cheaper than the national average.