Here’s how much gas prices have risen in SC because of Hurricane Harvey

For Don Horn, gas prices are serious business.

The engineer travels each day from his home in Chester to Fort Jackson, where he works inspecting job sites on post. That’s a 120-mile round trip, and he has to fill up the high capacity tank on his work truck three times a week.

On Tuesday, with gas prices rising because of Hurricane Harvey, Horn was gassing up at the super Kroger on Killian Road, where prices were among the lowest in town. At $1.90 a gallon, it still cost Horn $55 to fill up.

“This bites me,” Horn said. “It bites me hard.”

Hurricane Harvey could jack up gas prices across South Carolina in the coming weeks, according to AAA Carolinas. Since Wednesday, average gas prices in the Columbia area and across South Carolina have risen about 8 cents for a gallon of regular, according to gasbuddy.com.

Several oil and gas refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast have temporarily shut down operations and production because of the hurricane. How quickly the refineries reopen will depend on when the flood water recedes and power is restored.

“We don’t know how quickly the refineries can get back online,” AAA Carolinas spokeswoman Tiffany Wright said. “It’s kind of a guessing game for us.”

Gas prices in South Carolina rose 3 cents overnight Monday to an average of $2.13, she said. At the Love’s Travel Stop on Bluff Road at I-77, the price for regular unleaded was $2.15.

AAA predicted that gas prices could increase from 5 cents to 25 cents per gallon or more during the next several days. Wright said one Charlotte station went from $2.19 to $2.35 overnight.

“We will see a high spike, but usually they don’t last very long,” Wright said. “The good news is that across the country our supply levels are at a five-year high. We’ve got a lot in the piggy bank. ”

Wright cautioned that people shouldn’t panic at the pump.

“They don’t need to top off; just fill up as normal,” she said. “Over-consumption can lead to shortages.”

AAA also noted that gas price increases were already expected this week as South Carolinians make plans for an end-of-summer Labor Day holiday.

This story was originally published August 29, 2017 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Here’s how much gas prices have risen in SC because of Hurricane Harvey."