Many Phillipsburg area gas stations -- and some others in the area -- are experiencing delayed fuel deliveries. Vote in the NEWS POLL and see PHOTOS.
Poonam Seth doesn’t have to worry about enforcing gas rationing rules at the Exxon she manages on Route 22 in Phillipsburg.
She hasn’t had gas to sell for 48 hours.
Most gas stations in Phillipsburg are in the same boat — they have electricity but no gas to sell.
“We don’t know anything — they keep saying it’s coming, coming, coming,” said Seth, whose station ran out of gas at 10 a.m. Thursday. “Since then, no gas. It’s very bad.”
Shell and Wawa in Phillipsburg also were without gas today because of delayed fuel deliveries. US Fuel, on Route 22 at Potts Avenue, had been in the process of switching to a Mobil station when Superstorm Sandy hit, but even if it were up and running, it wouldn’t be able to get a fuel delivery. The Mobil station on Route 22 in Pohatcong Township also is out of gas, Manager Tsewang Gyurme said.
Some Pennsylvania gas stations are starting to face similar shortages. The Sunoco station on Easton Avenue in Bethlehem Township, Pa., ran out of gas Friday night.
The Gulf station at Northampton and 25th streets in Palmer Township has run out of gas daily since Wednesday and has waited up to five hours for a new delivery, Manager Nate Anderson said. The gas station had gas as of 3 this afternoon.
There were many stations still with gas today in the Lehigh Valley, including the Hess on Route 22 in Lopatcong Township, the US Gas on Union Square in Phillipsburg and the Exxon station on South Third Street in Easton. Many stations with available fuel are experiencing long lines.
Shell employee Syed Karim said the deliveries to his Phillipsburg station have been delayed because the station’s usual distribution center in New Jersey is without power and they’ve had to get fuel shipped from Virginia. The Route 22 station last had gas to sell Friday morning, he said this afternoon.
“We’ve been expecting a delivery ever since,” Karim said.
The gas station has been fielding calls all week from people an hour away in New Jersey seeking open gas stations. When the station doesn’t have gas, Karim refers them to open gas stations elsewhere in Warren and Northampton counties.
“There is gas — you just have to go further,” he said.
Non-name-brand gas stations are more likely to have gas because they can buy from a wider variety of suppliers, said Tracy Noble, a spokeswoman with AAA Mid-Atlantic.
Gas stations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania with electricity may be running out of gasoline because of increased demand from people coming from regions of New Jersey and New York without power, Noble said. Pennsylvania may especially be seeing an increased demand now because of New Jersey’s odd-even gas rationing system that started at noon today.
When more New Jersey and New York stations regain electricity, the situation should die down, Noble said.
“It should not be a long-term situation,” she said.
Phillipsburg resident Corrin Kates said she had to drive around for 30 minutes Friday to find a gas station that had gas to sell and didn’t have lines too long. She ended up at Wawa on 25th Street in Palmer Township, where she said there was a manageable 20-minute wait.
“It’s been pretty bad,” she said.
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HELP FOR N.J. GAS STATIONS
Gov. Chris Christie's office said New Jersey gas suppliers, station owners and operators are encouraged to self-report problems they are experiencing so the state can help provide resources to resolve them as quickly as possible.
Issues such as power outages, fuel shortages, road access or other issues can be submitted, along with the physical address of the station, to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority for referral to state emergency management officials. To report, email SandyGas@njeda.org or call 609-858-6900.