By Jeff Lipton
Some gas stations have been selling regular gas at upward of $2 per gallon, some of the highest prices in more than 20 years. Premium gasoline has reached as high as $2.15 per gallon. At some stations, customers have seen prices soar between 20 and 40 cents per gallon in just a two-week span.
On a single day, Tuesday, Aug. 26, AAA surveys showed that gas prices increased 9 cents a gallon in New York State -- and 12 cents on Long Island -- one of the biggest one-day spikes in state history. At press time, the average price of gas in Nassau County was $1.889 a gallon for regular.
Gas prices are often jacked up around the Labor Day weekend, but this year they're unusually high, and many factors are being blamed for the sudden and quick rise. One was the Aug. 14 multistate blackout, which shut down a number of oil refineries in the region. A second factor was the broken pipeline in Arizona, which caused shortages across the nation.
But excuses for the increase don't mean much to those paying at the pump. While filling up at his local gas station in Rockville Centre, Ken, who didn't want to give his last name, said, "You can't be happy about it. It seems that they always increase prices around the holiday. It's always some excuse."
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola) responded to the price hikes in a statement on Thursday, Aug. 28. "We've all been hit in the pocketbook by skyrocketing gas prices," she said. "With the blackout and summer vacation seasons behind us, however, we should see a serious drop in prices in the coming weeks. Until then, I would urge Long Islanders to conserve, carpool and use mass transit as much as possible.
"When I head back to Washington next week, Long Island's energy problems will be a top focus of mine," she said.
Cathy Kenny, associate director of the New York State Petroleum Council, said that despite the high prices seen recently, gas is still 39 percent lower than in 1981, when it reached $2.74 per gallon for regular. In 1981, the costs of distributing and marketing crude oil were much higher, Kenny said. "We have more technology now," she said.
She traced the recent skyrocketing prices to the start of the war with Iraq, when crude oil prices rose from $25 to $32 a barrel. She added that the blackout closed down seven refineries across the Northeast, and it took about 24 hours to get them back on track after the blackout ended. She also attributed the rising prices to civil unrest in Nigeria and worker strikes in Venezuela. "It's been a confluence of events," Kenny said.
She added that August traditionally is a month with increasing demand because people travel on their summer vacations. But this August there was even more demand due to the wet July, when vacationers postponed their trips until August.
New Yorkers also pay a combined 47 cents per gallon in state and federal taxes.
Kenny said that gas prices are set by the dealer, and the individual station does have some say in the final price. "They control the margin of the price on the street level," Kenny added.
Across the country, drivers are feeling the pinch at the pump. A Lundberg Survey of 8,000 gas station in the U.S. found an average price, for all grades, of $1.7484 per gallon, which is nearly an all-time high, officials said.
Gasoline prices in Rockville Centre ranged from $1.899 to $1.979 for regular unleaded on Friday as people were fueling up for the weekend.
Residents seemed resigned to paying the soaring prices. "It's terrible," said Al Wollin of Rockville Centre, "but we have to drive." Wollin was filling up Friday morning before driving to Massachusetts for the long weekend.
Kathy Blass of Rockville Centre said it wouldn't change her plans, either. "It doesn't make me happy," she said. "But I have no choice."
