brehon Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 ?? dsil works 15 minutes from their house - and dd is about 30 minutes. and they thought she had a long commute. they're on the outskirts. granted when she was driving me to the airport to fly out - we were both commenting on the number of cars on the freeway at 5am. They're very lucky. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 But what if you run out of power? How do you charge the electric car? We have a couple of ways to make electricity here. One is from a gasoline generator and another is from solar panels through a high-power inverter. When I have used the generator in the past, I have used it to charge the car battery for a couple of hours and then used the car to power electrical loads in the house for most of the time. The beauty of electricity is that you can make it at home, which is something you cannot do with fossil fuels. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 But what if you run out of power? How do you charge the electric car? You don't, at least not at home. At this point, we have no higher risk of a power outage because we are far from the storms. Dh's car has a reserve fuel tank that he can use, but he rarely exceeds the range of the electrical charge. I think he has to fill it once every six months or so. That said, home isn't the only place to charge the vehicle. There are several charging stations in our area, three within a few miles of our home, and they are common in shopping centers and office complexes throughout the region. With few exceptions, they are all open to the public at no cost. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 We have a couple of ways to make electricity here. One is from a gasoline generator and another is from solar panels through a high-power inverter. When I have used the generator in the past, I have used it to charge the car battery for a couple of hours and then used the car to power electrical loads in the house for most of the time. The beauty of electricity is that you can make it at home, which is something you cannot do with fossil fuels. I'm impressed! We are going to get solar panels when we re-roof our house in a few years. Well, my husband wants solar shingles, but with the high cost, I think the solar panels will win out. We don't plan to be in this house long enough for the solar shingles to be cost effective. I'd rather save the funds and do that on the house we build for retirement. We will be there much longer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 We are going to get solar panels when we re-roof our house in a few years. Well, my husband wants solar shingles, but with the high cost, I think the solar panels will win out. We installed our PV modules right after replacing the roof. Since the panels shade the shingles, I think the roof should last a very long time. We don't plan to be in this house long enough for the solar shingles to be cost effective. I'd rather save the funds and do that on the house we build for retirement. We will be there much longer. I've been purchasing nearly all of my solar equipment on eBay recently, both for me and for friends. Some friends recently purchased used 260W PV modules for $100 each (that was Craigslist) and I just purchased brand-new 250W inverters for $90 each shipped. With prices like that, payback times get reduced to just two or three years. In our case, we already have inverters, but they are third-generation inverters with only eight years left on the warranty. The new inverters provide an additional 17 years of warranty coverage. So this $1100 investment should provide over $12,000 of additional electricity (from 2026 until 2042) versus the current inverters. I know of no other investment that can give such a nearly-certain return. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valley Girl Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 (edited) Someone just complained on my facebook feed that they can't make it to work because the gas stations were out of gas and they are on E. They are in Dallas. Someone else commented they had to go to several gas stations to get gas and they are in Austin. DH went out late last night to fill up as the stations near us were completely out. HOWEVER, a delivery arrived just before he left the station he found. I also noticed this morning while walking to the store that at least one station where the pumps that had been taped off yesterday now had cars beside them. So that is encouraging. I don't know how much was delivered, obviously, but deliveries are getting through. Edited September 1, 2017 by Reluctant Homeschooler 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddcrook Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 ?? dsil works 15 minutes from their house - and dd is about 30 minutes. and they thought she had a long commute. they're on the outskirts. granted when she was driving me to the airport to fly out - we were both commenting on the number of cars on the freeway at 5am. I assure you, they are a lucky exception, not the rule. I'm in Fort Worth and most of my acquaintances have a short commute. I can think of several people who only drive 15 minutes or less. It always surprises me when I learn that someone commutes more than 30 minutes. Maybe our neighborhood is just conveniently located. I can imagine that people living near Dallas have a longer commute though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 You don't, at least not at home. At this point, we have no higher risk of a power outage because we are far from the storms. Dh's car has a reserve fuel tank that he can use, but he rarely exceeds the range of the electrical charge. I think he has to fill it once every six months or so. That said, home isn't the only place to charge the vehicle. There are several charging stations in our area, three within a few miles of our home, and they are common in shopping centers and office complexes throughout the region. With few exceptions, they are all open to the public at no cost. Sorry, I quoted the wrong one and had to fix it so the time stamp is off on the quote. I just meant what do you do if the whole town is dealing with a power outage. Then the local charging stations aren't useful. But I guess some people might have a way to create power as mentioned up thread. I don't know if everyone has that just because they have an electric car. I'm not saying they are better or worse off than someone with a car that requires gas. I am just wondering what people do if the whole town runs out of power. I guess they try to hitch rides or create energy. I have no idea how any of that works, how to harness the energy, etc. I'm in Fort Worth and most of my acquaintances have a short commute. I can think of several people who only drive 15 minutes or less. It always surprises me when I learn that someone commutes more than 30 minutes. Maybe our neighborhood is just conveniently located. I can imagine that people living near Dallas have a longer commute though. I don't know enough about the area to say if those that have short commutes are lucky or not. I mean I'm sure luck has something to do with it, but also being particular about where you move when you get a job. Like, if at all possible I would like to live near my job. Mainly why I homeschool right now LOL. To work I'd have to commute and at the end of the day I'd be spending a lot on gas, child care, etc. Dh, on the other hand, can walk to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 I don't know if everyone has that just because they have an electric car. I'm not saying they are better or worse off than someone with a car that requires gas. I am just wondering what people do if the whole town runs out of power. I guess they try to hitch rides or create energy. I have no idea how any of that works, how to harness the energy, etc. The available options for making and storing your own electricity are really starting to get more attractive, both in terms of ease of use and in terms of price. As electricity prices continue to rise and solar/battery/inverters/EV prices continue to drop, more and more will take advantage of the ability to make their vehicle fuel at home and drive more cheaply than they can on gasoline. We have an electric car, gasoline cars, a generator, solar power, batteries and inverters, so we have many options available should we need to get around in an emergency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 The available options for making and storing your own electricity are really starting to get more attractive, both in terms of ease of use and in terms of price. As electricity prices continue to rise and solar/battery/inverters/EV prices continue to drop, more and more will take advantage of the ability to make their vehicle fuel at home and drive more cheaply than they can on gasoline. We have an electric car, gasoline cars, a generator, solar power, batteries and inverters, so we have many options available should we need to get around in an emergency. I think that's awesome. I'm just not sure how one charges a car that normally plugs in when there is nothing to plug it into. Like how does that work with the solar panels. Do you have to charge A with solar panels and then plug car into A? Or what? I don't get it. If you didn't have the generator or any gas. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 Ok Reg, what kind of initial investment should someone expect to spend on setting up solar? Our 200 year old house can use 3000 kWh of electricity a month in the winter (and that's with heating the first floor with wood). The question is how much solar would cost and how long it would take to recoup that. We have been here a decade and plan to be here at least a decade more and hopefully lots longer. (We could conceivably retire here if we can have kids/someone do yard maintenance, and it's a place we would like to retire.). But my DH won't be able to cut firewood forever, so we'd have to buy wood or oil (it is set up for oil too) or set the first floor up with electric baseboards like the second floor has, which means more electricity cost. Maybe it's time to consider investing in solar. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 I think that's awesome. I'm just not sure how one charges a car that normally plugs in when there is nothing to plug it into. Like how does that work with the solar panels. Do you have to charge A with solar panels and then plug car into A? Or what? I don't get it. If you didn't have the generator or any gas. You charge batteries with the solar panel and the battery powers an inverter which converts the DC power into AC power to charge the car (which then converts the AC power back into DC to charge its batteries :tongue_smilie: ). When the sun is out, the batteries are just there to regulate the voltage: the power flows directly from the solar panels, through the inverter and into the car. Some of these systems will switch over to the battery automatically if the grid power goes down. I know it sounds like the above would be very wasteful, but modern batteries and power converters are extremely efficient. Some inverters are over 99% efficient and Li-ion batteries can have round-trip energy efficiencies over 98%. Our car, like most EVs, can be charged from either 120VAC or 240VAC. It can also be quick charged from specialized chargers which produce DC to charge the battery directly. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 Ok Reg, what kind of initial investment should someone expect to spend on setting up solar? Our 200 year old house can use 3000 kWh of electricity a month in the winter (and that's with heating the first floor with wood). The question is how much solar would cost and how long it would take to recoup that. We have been here a decade and plan to be here at least a decade more and hopefully lots longer. (We could conceivably retire here if we can have kids/someone do yard maintenance, and it's a place we would like to retire.). But my DH won't be able to cut firewood forever, so we'd have to buy wood or oil (it is set up for oil too) or set the first floor up with electric baseboards like the second floor has, which means more electricity cost. Maybe it's time to consider investing in solar. We heat with electricity using a heat pump and we consume about that much electricity in wintertime months. We are net-metered and we can produce all of our electricity for the year for our house and EV from our 12.75 kW solar array. If you shopped on eBay and did the installation yourself, you could install such a system for about $14,000 today before the 30% federal tax rebate. If you paid someone else to do it, you might pay $30,000 or more. That array produces about $2200/year worth of electricity at current prices around here. But that does not include any batteries and, therefore, no backup. Net metering is somewhat magical in that it can provide a massive "battery" for virtually free. If you want to cover ALL your needs year-round, it costs a fortune in the climate where I live. In reality, people generally choose a battery size that they can afford and then plan to provide for the rest of their needs using a generator or such. I've built an online spreadsheet which allows me to play what-if with different battery sizes, in case anyone is interested: Grid-tied solar and battery calculator. If you want details on how that works, you can look here. The calculator is fairly specific to my house and my local climate, but I have others who plan to provide me with data from other climates once they have the data. It does allow you to scale the size of the array and add electric cars to see how things change. As a related aside, Texas is one of the few places in the world which actually has a chance to move fully to renewable power in the not-so-distant future for a reasonable price. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 Yeah I was surprised by that. The news reports were spinning the kids back to school asap as a an effort to give them comforting routine and subsidized meals, but I think that's ... well not dumb not not likely. It seems to me, all the meals the entire homeless flooded family gets is being subsidized right now? And it's not like they are going to school with their friends and favorite teachers. It's a new school, a very very crowded cram packed school with a lot of extremely stressed out adults and kids. That does not sound at all like a comforting environment conductive to learning for children to me. Personally, I think if the schools open at all, it should be as shelters. That makes a lot more sense to me and could significantly reduce the burden of the current shelters. Oh but now, see, that would be REAL LIFE education! Some of the higher ups in the NEA may not approve of that because, you know, it's all about the standardized testing! Okay, enough snark for now . . . Murphy, I think that's a GREAT idea! Truly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 I meant after Katrina, the governor of Georgia closed Georgia schools. We were not affected by Katrina. There was no need to close Georgia schools. No, I know you were. It simply reminded me of the news about trying to get kids back to school asap in south Texas and I thought it didn't make sense. Sorry my rabbit trail wasn't clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 Oh but now, see, that would be REAL LIFE education! Some of the higher ups in the NEA may not approve of that because, you know, it's all about the standardized testing! Okay, enough snark for now . . . Murphy, I think that's a GREAT idea! Truly. I just don't get it. Schools often have cafeterias, gyms, showers, many bathrooms, it's child friendly... how does sending only children there for 6-8 hours then home to a shelter make sense when it could be used as a shelter source? Surely a better shelter source than some of the current locations? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 I'm in Fort Worth and most of my acquaintances have a short commute. I can think of several people who only drive 15 minutes or less. It always surprises me when I learn that someone commutes more than 30 minutes. Maybe our neighborhood is just conveniently located. I can imagine that people living near Dallas have a longer commute though. dd is also in ft. worth. dsil works in fort worth - it that drove their selection of where to live. she started at the hospital where she is now working after they bought their house. she said she is starting to see gas issues. their cars are topped off. she did have coworkers who struggled to get into work due to lack of gas. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 I think using schools as shelters makes SO much sense! What are kids in shelters going to do all day long anyway? At least a school has gym and playground facilities and all. Plus kitchen facilities. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 There is no run on gas. You can only fill up with so much gas. No one is bringing in tankers and filling those up. Are you in one of the cities where this is happening? Have you seen what people are doing? No, they are not bringing in tankers and filling them up here in San Antonio, but many people are bringing several gas cans or even barrels and filling them. These are people who normally would just fill up their car's gas tank and go on their way. Yes, there most definitely is a run on gas. Aren't there price gauging laws there? Yes. People are being encouraged to report it to the state government in Austin. One San Antonio gas station, upon noticing no one in their zip code had gas other than them, raised the price to $9.99. They were reported by a lot of people. Well, dh has enough gasoline to get to work 2 more times. This morning, we set off before sunrise to walk dd to school. Ds headed in the other direction for his class. Jamie probably has a day or two longer than that, but he's flying out Tuesday for DC so he really only needs enough to get to the airport and I assume it'll be back to normal (after all, the people filling up multiple gas cans or barrels won't need to buy gas for a while) by the time he comes home Friday. I have a couple friends who woke up at 4 this morning in order to check gas buddy to find the closest station with gas because they were both in desperate need of gas. Another friend just waited in line 2 hours to get gas. And it's causing traffic jams anywhere there is a gas station that gets a delivery. It's nuts. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 Jamie probably has a day or two longer than that, but he's flying out Tuesday for DC so he really only needs enough to get to the airport and I assume it'll be back to normal (after all, the people filling up multiple gas cans or barrels won't need to buy gas for a while) by the time he comes home Friday. It looks like he will be able to get here and back home before Hurricane Irma gets here. But between the Colonial Pipeline shutdown, the Labor Day weekend and everyone prepping for the hurricane, we may have shortages here by the time he gets up here. I assume the airports have some priority, but I do not know that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 Someone just complained on my facebook feed that they can't make it to work because the gas stations were out of gas and they are on E. They are in Dallas. I live in DFW and was out this morning and passed several gas stations. DD15 works with a dog rescue that's taking in a bunch of dogs from the Houston area, so I had to drive pretty far to drop her off and get back (they're setting up temporary kennels for them). I also have a foster dog that I had to take to the vet this morning, because we realized he has mange. Anyway, the big truck stops off the highway looked like they all had gas available. I think dd was checking Gas Buddy last night to see what stations had gas (instead of driving around looking for one). Tell your friend to try Gas Buddy. And I did see all the gas lines yesterday and wanted to have nothing to do with that hysteria. Thank God I still had 3/4 tank of gas from LAST weekend. I feel bad for the people who legitimately needed to fill their tanks to get to work. If you check our local news, there were all kinds of stupid stories about people's behavior at the gas stations yesterday - people bringing in and filling containers, barrels, etc. People booing each other, some dudes poured gas on each other as they were fighting at the pump... Seriously, People. And about the long commuting here. Some people have very long commutes in DFW (some don't) and there isn't a lot of public transportation. My dh drives about an hour one direction to get to work. Our neighbor drives about 40 minutes to get to work. We can't exactly move to get closer to work here, because the housing market is really strange now. There isn't enough housing for all the people moving here. Our friends are trying to find an apartment right now and there is nothing out there. It's to the point where they're going to have to stay with us or another friend until they find a place. All the apartments have waiting lists. So, you can't really move to get closer to work right now. Sorry for rambling. I hope your friend is able to fill up their gas tank today, so they can get to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 (edited) I'm in north Fort Worth and I was out in that hysteria yesterday. Drove past Costco where I normally get gas--I was amazed by the number of cars there at noon yesterday. Every way into the Costco area was lined and backed up into whatever street was feeding it. I guesstimate there were nearly 100 cars trying to get gas there yesterday. At my local Shell station every pump was busy, but I only waited for one car to finish up before I got to fill up. (I was at a quarter of a tank which if anyone knows me, knows that is empty to me ;) ) Two hours later the Shell was shuttered as were the Walmart gas pumps across the street. And commuting in DFW? My husband's company moved their offices this summer--an additional 20 minutes away making his commute an hour and fifteen or so one way. Fortunately he can work from home often. But commuting is a way of life here--to find a job and an affordable home close by is quite a feat. One my jobs as a real estate agent is to try to help people find a great place to live that minimizes their drive time if possible--I use up a lot of gas in my car getting that done! :auto: ​ Edited to add--the Shell station was still out of gas at 10am this morning. Walmart was up and running. Edited September 1, 2017 by Happy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 Even here in PA the price went up 10 cents per gallon (again) since this morning. I doubt any place got a new shipment during the time since their last 15 cent increase (last night). They're just enjoying the situation to profit the most they can on the much cheaper gas they have in their tanks. No line to gas up either. I wouldn't have gassed up, but we have to head south soon, so figured I'd better. Normally we'd have waited since gas is usually cheaper outside our state due to our having the highest gas tax in the nation. At least I had 30 cents off per gallon from my shopping - that pretty much puts it back to where it was two days ago (net 5 cents less for my 30 cents off). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 Fuel here went up more than thirty-five cents in one jump the other day. They get the double excuse of shortages from the Hurricane and now Labor Day weekend travel. Thankfully we are staying put, doing yard work, and sitting around a back yard fire roasting hot dogs, and laying low. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 yeah, it has been nuts here trying to get fuel. Gasbuddy last night was scary IMHO. Everywhere I looked said "no fuel." Earlier today there were several "no fuel" and "no power". Not sure what that was about. Dh said some stoplights were out in the area so I guess some places lost power. When I checked gasbuddy a few minutes ago, about half the stations had fuel, so that is an improvement. Dh finally got fuel for dd's car this morning, but it took several tries at different stations to find any. Local news said a refinery is expected to be back on line Sunday. one that is giving me pause.....We made the decision not to drive unless we absolutely needed to drive until this whole thing is sorted. School, work, medical. Groceries or supplies if absolutely needed, but nothing else. I figured the best way I can help my neighbors is to not have use carbon. I think this sounds like a responsible thing to do given the current situation. So why are dd and I getting grief from "friends" for not coming to a fantasy football lunch and a Star Wars movie marathon? Neither event is close to our home. Neither event has carpool options. Given other circumstances, those events would be okay. But we don't know how long it could be difficult to get fuel. Work and school require driving....and not right around the corner. We are one of those families whose work require a commute. Dh's job changed locations. Dd's college moved some of her classes to another campus this year. That's life. So instead try saying we will be missed. Or how about saying, I can understand your choice? Or maybe not saying anything? But don't criticize.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 No, I know you were. It simply reminded me of the news about trying to get kids back to school asap in south Texas and I thought it didn't make sense. Sorry my rabbit trail wasn't clear. I got a text message saying a local store is collecting school supplies for TX. I admit I scratched my head a little. Are they going to package it up and mail it? Are the schools ready to accept stuff like that? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted September 2, 2017 Share Posted September 2, 2017 I got a text message saying a local store is collecting school supplies for TX. I admit I scratched my head a little. Are they going to package it up and mail it? Are the schools ready to accept stuff like that? I know. There's all these funds raisers popping up saying "they need everything". No. They don't. They have very specific needs rights now and sending anything they cannot use right now is a waste. There is no where to store it and not enough people to set aside to organize it. The local charities (such as catholic charities for Galveston/Houston) all say exactly what they need and are saying to not send things like clothing. And after the crap Red Cross has done in several past disasters, I have no idea how they keep any decent rating or why everyone is pushing to use them. After Katrina and Haiti, I will never give them a single dime. End rant. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted September 2, 2017 Share Posted September 2, 2017 one that is giving me pause.....We made the decision not to drive unless we absolutely needed to drive until this whole thing is sorted. School, work, medical. Groceries or supplies if absolutely needed, but nothing else. I figured the best way I can help my neighbors is to not have use carbon. I think this sounds like a responsible thing to do given the current situation. So why are dd and I getting grief from "friends" for not coming to a fantasy football lunch and a Star Wars movie marathon? Neither event is close to our home. Neither event has carpool options. Given other circumstances, those events would be okay. But we don't know how long it could be difficult to get fuel. Work and school require driving....and not right around the corner. We are one of those families whose work require a commute. Dh's job changed locations. Dd's college moved some of her classes to another campus this year. That's life. So instead try saying we will be missed. Or how about saying, I can understand your choice? Or maybe not saying anything? But don't criticize.... I'm in the same situation. DH waited over 30 minutes for fuel last night at midnight. He had a preplanned trip so I'm limiting my excursions just in case he needs my car later in the week and gas is still in short supply. I think things will be okay in a few days. The water is receding and businesses are trying to get shipments out. But right now, with gas being in short supply here, I'm rationing our usage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted September 2, 2017 Share Posted September 2, 2017 I just passed four gas stations in the heart of the Fort Worth area that were out of gasoline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted September 2, 2017 Share Posted September 2, 2017 I caved when I saw we only had a quarter tank, and the run on gas was just worsening. Our little neighborhood gas station that no one knows about had long lines this morning as other stations ran out. I filled the tank before the lunch crowd showed up. Tonight they and the other nearby stations are out. But I felt virtuous mowing the lawn with the electric mower, at least. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frugalmamatx Posted September 2, 2017 Author Share Posted September 2, 2017 I saw deliveries in San Antonio today, but still saw stations that were out too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Three days later, still no gas at our neighborhood station. Some stations in Austin are getting deliveries and immediately selling out. Someone on the radio said we were at "condition red," which I think means "no gasoline." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Beaumont had gas this morning. Vidor did not but nothing is open there anyway. Once we got a few miles from Vidor (Port Arthur maybe?) a station that did not have gas last night did have it today. From there east no stations were out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 My husband commutes an hour each way for work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamajag Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 I got gas last Thursday in Austin and one major chain of Shells was only allowing people to fill their vehicle’s tank. No containers. They had gas the longest. The first place I stopped had gas but required you to buy the highest level car wash to purchase gas. I didn’t buy there but did report what they were doing. GasBuddy is now showing gas available at most places. The ones that don’t have gas are mostly Chevrons. I think that points to supply chain in their case. I’m still not using gas the way I usually do. I’d planned to go to Ikea, which is 30 miles one way, but decided to wait a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 I'm in South Carolina. Our gas prices have jumped (at least on our major road). They have jumped here in CA as well. I am a little doubtful about these "inevitable consequences." Of course, refineries in Houston are offline but what about Alaska? Some years ago, "a tree fell over in Alaska" and the jump in gas prices was attributed to it. WE have refineries in Richmond CA. At the moment I have not heard of anything malfunctioning there but when there was an explosion some time back, gas prices jumped again. Doesn't matter - it seems to me - where the issue is. Any excuse to jack up the prices. And of course it being Labor Day today was probably another "good" reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 (edited) If you google "gas shortages in Texas" every hit comes back as "panic-induced shortages" or "fear-driven shortages". This was entirely preventable. Edited September 5, 2017 by Kinsa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 If you google "gas shortages in Texas" every hit comes back as "panic-induced shortages" or "fear-driven shortages". This was entirely preventable.In the places that were flooded and have gas, there are no lines. It is also $0.40/ gallon cheaper than back home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 I got a text message saying a local store is collecting school supplies for TX. I admit I scratched my head a little. Are they going to package it up and mail it? Are the schools ready to accept stuff like that? Some of the school districts are re-opening today. I have 2 family members whose kids went back today. The third one in the area goes back Thursday. Of course, there are several that will need to be closed longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 (edited) If you google "gas shortages in Texas" every hit comes back as "panic-induced shortages" or "fear-driven shortages". This was entirely preventable.Agreed. And yet, for whatever reason, there's now a gas shortage; and filling my tank four days ago like the rest of the panicky lemmings ended up being necessary, while admittedly contributing to the problem. The Tragedy of the Commons. Edited September 5, 2017 by Violet Crown 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Agreed. And yet, for whatever reason, there's now a gas shortage; and filling my tank four days ago like the rest of the panicky lemmings ended up being necessary, while admittedly contributing to the problem. The Tragedy of the Commons. Yes, unfortunately, once it starts you can't get out of the downward spiral. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 I got gas today! And in a line that was only 5 minutes long! This panic and hoarding causing a run on gas stations thing is so ridiculous. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 Gas is back in Central Austin, too. And the heat has broken. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 Gas is back in Central Austin, too. And the heat has broken. Oh good! My cousin lives near San Antonio and is wanting to head to SE Texas to visit all her family that was hit by the floods. I cautioned her on the gas shortages she might encounter on the way there. I hope she is able to make it, it would be a huge emotional boost to her parents and brothers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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