Amelia Finefrock
On Wednesday, one of the biggest overnight gas hikes Illinois has seen in some time raised gas 50 cents. So why the spike? According to CBS 2’s Jim Williams – there are several reasons. Maryann Howard – who just filled up a few days ago says she did a double take at the pump yesterday.
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“It really went up! I’m normally off of work today but I wound up going in for overtime — thank God, I got paid for this now,” Howard said. Patrick DeHaan, an expert fuel and oil analyst at GasBuddy, points to one reason for the hike.
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“At least one of these massive pipelines that connects the Gulf Coast up through Oklahoma up to Chicago is partially, or mostly, shutdown right now because of a leak,” he said. “It’s kind of a perfect storm of circumstances and now we’re stuck with rising gas prices.”
The blame is also shared with Hurricane Harvey as refineries close to Chicago delayed routine maintenance to keep oil flowing during the storm. That work is being done now so gas inventories are at a two-year low.
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“These refineries are 100 years old,” DeHaan said. “Imagine not taking a 100-year-old car in to get serviced — it’s got to happen or it’s going to break down.”
DeHaan says after the pipeline is repaired as well as the maintenance at the refineries is completed, relief will be immediate and right in time for Thanksgiving weekend.
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