Staff File Photo by Shane McMillan-- Brent Steiner from Woodstock, Ga. finishes pumping gas on one of the few available pumps at a RaceTrack gas station on Battlefield Parkway. Gas stations throughout the region have been experiencing shortages following a hiccup in the fuel supply blamed on hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

Colonial Pipeline is operating at full capacity for the first time in more than two weeks, Energy Department officials announced Tuesday, but many pumps in Chattanooga remain “bagged.”

Randy Bly, community relations director for AAA Motor Club South, said it could be several days before local supplies are replenished since the fuel moves through the pipeline at 3 to 5 mph. However, gasoline supply to the Southeast likely will be supplemented by truck deliveries since there already have been shortages here, he said.

More gas should be headed into the Southeast “within the next few days,” said Healy Baumgardner, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Paul Miller, a Signal Mountain resident, pumped gas Tuesday at Kanboi Exxon on East 23rd Street, where motorists were each limited to $40 of gas a day. Before finding gas at the Exxon station, he had begun to worry that he might run out.

“Signal Mountain has typically been the area to run out first, but I was surprised to find out in Ooltewah that they are out, too,” he said. “I’m in sales and I travel a good bit. I need to be a little more cognizant of where I can get it.”

Many refineries in the Gulf of Mexico shut down in preparation for Hurricanes Ike and Gustav which pounded Texas and Louisiana earlier this month.

Fuel supplies in the Southeast have been tight since the region is heavily reliant on gas from these refineries, but Ms. Baumgardner said she expects fuel supplies to remain at a steady, sufficient level after being notified that all but two remaining refineries are operating.

“In addition, 13 of the 15 refineries that shut operations in the wake of the storms have returned to production,” she said. “As a result, gasoline is once again being produced in the Gulf region at levels sufficient to serve the Southeast market.”

Mr. Bly said Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C., are two of the most severe areas distressed by the shortage, much of which has been fueled by panic buying.

“If we can get the panic buyers under control, the situation in Atlanta would improve overnight,” he said.

The price of light, sweet crude fell on the New York Mercantile Exchange to $96.36 a barrel on Monday, but it climbed on Tuesday to close at $101.37.

Mr. Bly said the wholesale futures price of gasoline fell to around $2.40 a gallon, but those prices are likely not going to be felt here until around mid-October.

“Things are looking slightly better, and I think they will gradually continue to improve,” he said.

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