NATION Blackout increases summer gas prices

Losing one day of refinery output is enough to push up gasoline prices.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Motorists probably will face higher gasoline prices the rest of the summer because the blackout temporarily shut down seven refineries, exacerbating short gas supplies and problems in the West, government and industry officials say.
With gasoline supplies tight and demand soaring, prices at the pump have increased an average of about 10 cents a gallon nationally in the last three weeks and spiked much higher in some places, according to the Energy Information Administration.
The agency said the average price was $1.627 a gallon in the government's latest survey Monday, nearly 24 cents a gallon higher than prices at the pump the same time a year ago.
"It's likely that prices will continue to increase through Labor Day after that demand will fall off," Douglas MacIntyre, an analyst for the EIA, said Tuesday. The agency is part of the Energy Department.
High impact
The impact on prices by the refinery shutdowns was blunted because most of them reopened fairly quickly, once electricity was restored, although not always in full production.
Except for one refinery, "we don't think any of them suffered any damage," said Bob Slaughter, president of the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association. He said most restarted Friday or over the weekend and are moving back to normal operation.
But he added, "The supply and demand balance is so tight that if you lose major output even for a day it does have some impact. Almost anything can have an impact on prices."
The refineries that were thrown out of service by the blackout -- two near Toledo, another near Detroit and four in Canada -- only added to other problems that have pushed up gasoline prices this summer. Refinery problems related to producing summer gasoline in California and the rupture of a major pipeline carrying gas from Texas into the Phoenix, Ariz., area have caused prices to jump in the West.
A Marathon-Ashland refiner near Detroit was still out Tuesday after an explosion in its boiler unit during the shutdown Thursday, officials said. It is expected to be back in operation soon, industry officials said.