Gas Station Lines, 10-Cent Price Hike Predicted by August

Gasoline prices will probably jump sharply this summer, and motorists may face gas lines reminiscent of the 1970s, a consumer group said today in a report disputing Energy Department predictions.

“We could see spot shortages in the form of gas lines by the beginning of August,” said Christopher Dyson, director of research for Buyers Up, a division of the advocacy group Public Citizen.

Dyson said gasoline prices at the pump could rise as much as 10 cents a gallon by the end of the summer, adding to a price spiral this spring that triggered calls on Capitol Hill for the Justice Department to investigate oil company pricing tactics after the March 24 Exxon oil spill in Alaska, which caused a brief squeeze on oil supplies to the West Coast.