Power outages, fuel shortages make gasoline scarce in N.J.

Steve Ward of North Jersey paid $167 at a Morrisville gas station Friday to fill up the tank of his minivan and a half-dozen containers.

Dennis Kagen couldn't care less about the price as he waited to gas up his truck at the crowded Turkey Hill station in Ottsville, Upper Bucks County.

"It doesn't even matter at this point. If you can get it, you get it," said Kagen, who lives about 15 miles east, across the Delaware River in Stockton, N.J.

Both men considered themselves lucky to be working in Pennsylvania, where they avoided the hours-long lines and heated confrontations over gas that Sandy has produced in their home state since Monday.

As of Friday afternoon, an estimated 50 to 60 percent of the stations in New Jersey were closed because of power outages or fuel shortages, said American Automobile Association spokeswoman Tracy Noble.

Because of the shortages and long lines, Gov. Christie on Friday ordered even-odd rationing in 12 northern and central counties, starting noon Saturday.

Federal officials said the government would buy up to 12 million gallons of unleaded fuel and up to 10 million gallons of diesel fuel for New Jersey, New York, and other areas hit hard by Sandy.

Kagen waited in line for gas for two hours the other day, "and that was a short line," he said. "Police were directing traffic at the stations that had gas in Frenchtown."

Ward has seen three-hour lines near his home in Essex Falls and three-mile lines at the service plazas on the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike.

"My friends have seen fistfights, and there are police at every station that has gas," he said.

Some stations have a $35 limit, Kagen said. Others have set a cap of $20, and some stations were only selling fuel for customers to fill canisters for their generators.

And those were the stations that were open.

"There are a lot of stations that don't have fuel," Kagen said. "Those that do can't get it out of the ground."

Like the Shell station in Washington Crossing, a half-mile from a bridge into New Jersey.

"I've got no electricity but plenty of gas," owner Sam Scully said in his empty station. "I've seen a lot of cars from New Jersey. I know we'd be busy as hell if we could pump it."

New Jersey's long lines and closed stations have driven drivers into Bucks County, where demand also is up for residents looking to fuel gas generators.

The Lukoil station on Route 179 outside New Hope has had 25- to 30-minute waits, with 75 percent of the vehicles from New Jersey, owner Shawn Zubler said.

"I've had mechanics directing traffic and workers helping to pump gas for those who don't know how," he said, referring to Garden Staters spoiled by their state's lack of self-serve pumps.

In the last three days, the station has sold 500 percent more gas than normal, requiring two deliveries a day, Zubler said. It ran out Friday morning but was pumping again by midday, with lines stretching into the road.

The price of $3.899 a gallon with cash payment and $4.059 with credit card has remained the same since Monday, before Sandy hit.

Gas stations in Montgomery, Delaware, and Chester Counties were up and running, many without interruption, said Ross DiBono, executive director of the state Gasoline Retailers Association and Allied Trades.

In Bordentown, gas stations along Route 130 had lines 20 cars deep backed up onto the highway Friday. But 25 miles south in Marlton, traffic was light at filling stations.

There were reports Thursday of fights breaking out at gas stations in North Jersey as frazzled motorists waited hours to fill up. But drivers in Bordentown were calm, Police Chief Matthew Simmons said.

"There's power outages at the gas stations in Trenton and Hamilton, so my understanding is people are driving here for gas," he said.

State police were investigating reports of price gouging, with reports Thursday of stations charging more than $5 a gallon. On Friday, the Attorney General's Office announced charges against 65 businesses, including gas stations, restaurants, and hotels.

Fuel supplies were increasing as ports around New York harbor regained power and reopened, AAA's Noble said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pitched in by allowing New Jersey stations to sell gas with lower air-pollution standards.

Still, it is unclear when the situation at the pump will improve, Noble said.

"There's mass devastation at the Shore, and the barrier islands aren't going to be back anytime soon," she said. "Right now it seems like a ways off."