There is no fuel shortage, but there is a shortage of electricity. Without power, there's no way to get the gas into your tank, and some stations are shut down entirely. John Hofmeister, founder and chief executive officer of Citizens for Affordable Energy, is the former president of Shell Oil. He explained, "In order to pump the gas, you need electricity. In order to run the cash register or to run the credit card system from the pump to the credit card company, you need electricity."
Hofmeister says electricity issues are also squeezing the delivery for fuel to stations that are open. In the region, 13 of the 34 fuel terminals are without power. Hofmeister said, "So if you don't have electricity at the depots, which fill the delivery trucks -- or if you don't have electricity at a retail station, then you really can't sell gasoline to the public."