spytak@republicanherald.com
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - A disruption in the petroleum supply chain caused by Superstorm Sandy was felt at the Sheetz gas station Saturday night.
"They did eventually run dry on unleaded, the 87 and the 89, Saturday night. The 92 held up. But they're OK now. A supply truck got there sometime Sunday morning," Monica Jones, a Sheetz public relations manager based in Altoona, said Sunday night from Washington, D.C.
According to The Associated Press, Sheetz gas stations in Eastern and Central Pennsylvania have been reporting gas shortages.
"Right now, we have 50 in Pennsylvania which are still affected," Jones said Sunday night.
There are two Sheetz station in Schuylkill County.
One is Store No. 258 at Gordon Nagle Trail, Pottsville, but the gas pumps there are being upgraded and have been shut down for more than two weeks.
"They're down for a normal rebuild improvement project. So 258 hasn't been affected by this," Jones said.
The other Sheetz in Schuylkill County is Store No. 410 at 270 Route 61 South, Schuykill Haven, Jones said.
"They were on the list Saturday, but they're good now," Jones said Sunday night.
When contacted for information Sunday night, representatives at the Schuylkill Haven Sheetz refused to comment and referred all questions to corporate headquarters.
According to The Associated Press, Sheetz customers left comments during the weekend on the Sheetz Facebook page complaining of gas outages at Sheetz locations in areas including Carlisle, Halifax and Harrisburg.
In response, Sheetz issued a statement: "Currently, we are experiencing fuel shortages in some locations throughout Eastern and Central PA, but we are working to get supply to these stores as soon as possible. Since Superstorm Sandy hit, the petroleum supply chain has been stressed, but to the best of our knowledge this is a brief interruption in distribution. Our stores are still open for business and customers can depend on us for all food, beverage and convenience needs."
While the shortage hit the entire gas industry, Jones said she didn't hear of any other gas station chains having problems.
"I've been getting that question quite a bit. It's an industry thing. It's a petroleum supply problem. The supply chain is what's been stressed. One could assume or speculate that this situation is affecting more retailers but have not heard of any others that are actually out of gas," Jones said.
Representatives of local Turkey Hill and A-Plus Minit Market gas stations refused to comment on the matter and referred all comments to their corporate offices.