Gasoline stations reopen slowly in Louisiana -AAA
HOUSTON, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Gasoline retailers were coming back on line in Louisiana on Wednesday after Hurricane Gustav, but motorists may have to wait in line, the American Automobile Association said.
"More and more of them are opening as power gets restored," AAA spokesman Mike Right said, citing a "pretty good" situation at Baton Rouge, which took a strong hit from Gustav after the storm came ashore Monday.
More than half of Louisiana electricity customers were without power as of Wednesday, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Where gasoline stations have reopened, lines to refuel may be long, Right said. "Authorities are recommending that people not return without sufficient fuel and something to eat," he said.
Motiva said on Wednesday that 70 percent of Shell-branded gasoline stations in Louisiana remained closed, and an operator of several Shell outlets said remnants of Gustav remained a problem.
A Motiva news release posted on the Shell website said 10 percent of the closed stations were damaged but that the vast majority lacked only power or personnel.
"Where power is an issue, we are deploying generators to Shell-branded stations in strategic areas," the news release said.
St. Romain Oil Co in Mansura in central Louisiana had problems reopening its eight stations Wednesday partly because of new flooding that blocked a key fuel delivery truck route, an official said.
"One of the outer feeder bands of Gustav came through this area last night. We got a lot of heavy rain this morning, tornado warnings," said Annie Gauchier, company controller.
The company was able to reopen two stations by Wednesday afternoon, she said.
The St. Romain bulk plant in Mansura had no power and was using battery-powered pumps to fill gas cans for citizens, but only offshore oil crew and emergency workers were getting their vehicles fueled, Gauchier said.
Motiva said it is working with local power providers to get electricity restored so that gas stations and convenience stores can open on key routes back into evacuated areas. (Reporting by Bruce Nichols; Editing by David Gregorio)
