By MIKE KRAFCIK
6 News Reporter
KNOXVILLE (WATE) - Gas prices around Knoxville keep climbing as Isaac was downgraded Thursday to a tropical depression.
The average in Knoxville Thursday was $3.66 a gallon. That's up three cents from Wednesday and a whopping 20 cents from this time last week, before Isaac shut down some refineries in the Gulf. Others are operating at reduced rates.
The hurricane hit parts of the Gulf Coast that are considered the nation's oil and gas hub. A lot of the gas comes from refineries down there to pumps in East Tennessee.
Motorists in Knoxville are feeling Isaac's effects at the pump. "It's gone from filling it up to sticking $10 and $20 in it to see what it's going to do the next day," Nick Lucas said.
Tengasco CEO Jeffrey Bailey says the situation could be a lot worse. "There's no long-term sustained damage. There's the individual shut-down components, the loss of power issues that may linger in a few cases. Overall, we dodged a bullet. It could have been a lot worse."
Until refineries have fully recovered and gone back to full operation, experts say there may be a temporary spike in gas prices that could last until next week.
Prices will stay higher in Knoxville because of its location and the access to alternative refineries. "For Knoxville, our issue is we're on the end of the product delivery line. We're the last stop," Bailey said.
So many are keeping their eyes on the prices as Labor Day weekend approaches.
"I'm flying down to Florida instead of driving," Patrick Clayton said. "It's actually cheaper, $157 round trip."
Experts say the longer Isaac lingers, the more prices will increase.
The average in Knoxville Thursday was $3.66 a gallon.
