ATLANTA -- The state's surcharge on gasoline, suspended earlier this month to give motorists a break, returned Saturday at midnight, boosting pump prices that were already high.

The return of the levy, 15 cents a gallon, may have prompted an extra amount of flurry at metro Atlanta gas stations as drivers sought to get as much gas as they can for as cheap as possible.

"I'm just going to fill it up to see how much I get," said Rikita Harris, who was buying fuel for her Hyundai at the RaceTrac station on Delk Road in Cobb County.

Lyle Morgan said the return of the tax means he will have to spend an additional $10 to fill up the tank on his sport utility vehicle.

"You've got people now having difficulty meeting their bills because gas their gas expenditure has tripled," he said.

Prices at many pumps in the metro Atlanta are flirting with the $3 mark.

"It was $2.89 yesterday, $2.99 today, people are getting scared," said Asfaw Ersaa, the cashier at an Exxon station in Midtown Atlanta, where fear of drive-offs has made pre-payment mandatory.

Gasoline prices, already rising because of lasting damage to production in the Gulf after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, shot up to the $3 mark Wednesday afternoon after the inventory report showed shrinking crude stocks. Metro Atlanta stations averaged $2.99 a gallon, while coastal Georgia came in at $3.39, according to GeorgiaGasPrices.com.

"Our supplies are very tight," Georgia Petroleum Council's Ric Cobb said. "I'd hoped we'd be further down the road" in recovering from hurricane damages.

Georgia is especially hard-hit because the refineries it used for its "boutique" gas are down after the hurricanes, Cobb said. With the state's main supplier, Colonial Pipeline Co., at 70 percent capacity, Cobb said his group is turning to imports,

For drivers, this means it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better, according to AAA South spokesman Gregg Laskoski.

"Refinery levels are not up to where they were before Katrina," Laskoski said. "We'll probably see prices edge higher in the next few weeks before they start going down."

Despite those increases, Gov. Sonny Perdue said he won't extend the gas tax break he ordered on Sept. 2 in response to Hurricane Katrina because the $75 million cost to the already budget-stricken state is prohibitive. Taxes are actually due to increase by a few cents beginning Nov. 1.

With an SUV now guzzling up to $75, many drivers are taking the joy out of their rides, eliminating any driving that isn't strictly necessary, especially on weekends.

"I just go to work and back, no sightseeing," Lee Baynes said before driving away in his shiny black Yukon.

Those whose job requires constant driving -- making deliveries and house calls -- are facing another dilemma. Do they pass the increases along to the consumers or suck it up to remain competitive?

"We're in a catch-22," said Walter Scott, who had just spent $85 to fill up the van he needs to pick up and deliver dry-cleaning in north Atlanta.

"The customer has to get hit," said Andre Villalobos, a painting contractor who spent $85 for his van and $10 for his pressure washer. "It's going to have a trickle-up effect."

Even though the tax break ends at midnight Friday, state Revenue Commissioner Bart Graham said many stations shouldn't be charging the taxes immediately.

That's because if stations are selling gas they bought before midnight Friday -- gas they didn't pay taxes on -- they should not be passing the taxes on to consumers, Graham said.

Still, Georgians are bracing for the worst.

Two 18-year-olds from Macon, Ga., figured out alternatives should they have to pay more than the $60 they had just spent to fill up their golden pickup in downtown Atlanta.

"We're going to get a street bike, seriously," Cody Casler said.

"How about horses?" Cole Aganew replied.

Channel 2 Action News reporter Jeff Dore contributed to this report.