With many homes still running on generators and some commuters returning to work by automobile, gasoline is in high demand in the areas hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy. Lines are long, and tempers are short.
In an interview with CBS This Morning, ASU’s John Hofmeister explains that, while there is plenty of gasoline supply to meet this demand, it cannot be distributed without electricity.
"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," he said.
Getting the gas to the open fueling stations is impeded by power outages, too. “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."