Florida Labor Day Gas Prices Were Highest In Seven Year; Hurricane Ida Partially To Blame

September 7, 2021

Holiday travelers in Florida found the most expensive Labor Day gas prices in seven years, according to AAA.  Prices at the pump are now averaging $3.02 per gallon — 83 cents more than last year’s holiday, and 58 cents more than what drivers paid during the 2019 holiday weekend.

Florida’s gas price average increased eight cents last week, after Hurricane Ida’s impact on the Gulf Coast left nine crude oil refineries offline. This resulted in an outage of about 13% of total U.S. refining capacity.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, four of the nine refineries have begun the process of restarting. Three of those are located in Baton Rouge, the other is near New Orleans. The DOE says it could take several days for those refineries to produce at full rates.

Meanwhile, five refineries near New Orleans remain shut due to issues including power outages. These plants account for 6% of total U.S. refining capacity.

“News that refineries are working to restore operations is a positive sign for motorists,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA — The Auto Club Group. “As refineries get back up and running, prices should begin to slide lower; especially now that the summer driving season has come to a close.”

A low of $2.85 could be found Monday night at three stations in Cantonment, while Pensacola prices bottomed out a $2.83 at the warehouse clubs.

NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News