HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) -
It appears Superstorm Sandy's wrath has once again hit the Midstate, but this time she's causing pain at the pump.
Many Sheetz stores throughout South Central Pennsylvania have run out of gas.
If you try to get gas at Sheetz this week, and you see it advertised
as $9.99 or $0.01, don't get too excited. It just means they're out of
unleaded gas.
Rick from Hershey had his hopes up.
"I realized it was either, A, a glitch, or they're just screwing
around," he said. "I was hoping to get some gas for a penny. Would've
been pretty cool, you know?"
But it wasn't cool for many unsuspecting drivers, who pulled up to fill-up, only to see a blank price sign.
"I'll just go and get gas at another gas station because I just put
the cheap stuff in," said Amy Hoffman of Elizabethville. "I'm a mother
of two children. The cost of gasoline is $40 or $50 just to fill my car
-- don't wanna pay extra for it."
abc27 tried to pump Sheetz officials for answers. They released a response via Twitter:
"Fuel shortages in Central/Eastern PA are due to refinery shut downs
from super storm Sandy. We are working to get supply to these stores as
soon as we can. To the best of our knowledge, this is a brief
interruption in distribution."
Monday morning, Sheetz officials said most stations would receive a
shipment today. They said all stations should have gas by Thanksgiving.
Drivers are surprised that Sandy's aftermath has reached the Midstate.
"I actually have an aunt who live in Long Island and they would wait
three hours for gasoline," said Hoffman. "So I know the shortage is out
there but I didn't think it would affect us because we're in a different
area."
Meanwhile, the blank signs have drivers worried about what may happen down the road.
"If they're out, Sheetz, what if the other ones are out? I don't
know," said Rick. "Makes me think we should pull back in and fill up."
According to our viewers who posted on Facebook, the following Sheetz
stores are also out of unleaded gas: Jonestown Road in Lower Paxton
Township, Shippensburg, Newville, Plainfield, Mount Holly Springs,
Carlisle, as well as several locations in York and Franklin Counties.
As for the Sheetz in Halifax, the only gas you can get is premium.
Sheetz officials said their company is not the only one that gets gas
from refineries in New Jersey that have been shut down. However, they
said Sheetz ran out first because they sell a large amount of fuel.
According to Triple A, the average price for a gallon of regular
right now in Pennsylvania is $3.63, which is 16 cents higher than
current national average.
