TEMA: There's Plenty of Gas in Tennessee

NASHVILLE, TN — As stations across the Volunteer State are running out of gas, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency assures Tennesseans there is no fuel shortage.

TEMA Director Patrick Sheehan said that as long as people maintain their normal refueling habits, there should not be a supply problem.

"Tennessee’s consumers need to maintain their normal driving and fuel buying habits. If consumers fill up unnecessarily, top off their tanks when they aren’t close to empty, and fill multiple containers at the pumps, then our petroleum retailers will not be able to keep up with the demand of the fuel supply. Even on a normal day, Tennessee’s petroleum industry as a whole would have a difficult time keeping up with the current demands being placed on Tennessee’s fuel supply," Sheehan said.

The now-shut-down Colonial pipeline is not the only line serving Tennessee, Sheehan noted, adding that the governor's emergency declaration gives fuel-truck drivers extra time to make deliveries, which should maintain the state supply, so long as demand remains normal.

Image via TEMA