New Yorkers paying five bucks a gallon for gasoline may think things can’t get much worse — but in one California town people are shelling out nearly double that for a fill-up
A Chevron station in the coastal village of Mendocino about 175 miles north of San Francisco was charging $9.60 a gallon for regular on Friday afternoon.
That’s more than $3 a gallon above the state average of $6.30, and $4.78 higher than the national average of $4.82, according to AAA.
But individual stations throughout the country are charging more than the average, including one LA station that topped $8 on Friday.
Prices have also surged in New York, where the statewide average has hit $4.851, according to AAA – with the average in all boroughs except Staten Island topping $5 Saturday morning.
The Mendocino station, Schlafer’s Auto Body & Repair, is the only one in the tourist haven — described on the county website as “an enchanted place filled with real, unspoiled California opportunities” — and is routinely considered the most expensive in the nation.
Owner Judy Schlafer told SFGate.com she paid $50,000 for an 8,880-gallon delivery this week, which she has 10 days to pay for. Three months ago, the same load would have been about $30,000.
Schlafer said that if she didn’t charge $9.60, she’d be out of business.
“I’m going to be lucky if I make the year with all the fees, the regulation, the payroll fees,” she said. “If it continues the way it is, Mendocino won’t have a gas station next year.”
Schlafer claims other stations are charging as much as she is, but AAA has the average for the area at $6.31, just a couple pennies higher than the statewide average.
“Without much of a doubt it’s the most expensive gas in the country,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at Gas Buddy, told SFGate.
Oil prices rose for the sixth straight week, with the benchmark West Texas Intermediate settling Friday at $118 a barrel, up 3.3%. Surging crude prices reflect short supply in the US, which started when demand plunged during Covid lockdowns. Demand came back, but production and supply have not.
“Refinery capacity has diminished due to COVID,” De Haan said. “We don’t have as much ability to refine as much fuel as the market is consuming. Prices continue to climb, it’s absolutely amazing to see how high prices currently are.”
The price of crude oil also reflects the sanctions imposed by the US and other countries on Russia, a major oil producer, which took millions of gallons of oil per day out of the world economy.
OPEC+ agreed Friday to increase production in July and August, which could help ease prices amid the busy summer driving season.
Read all the crap that came out from the Demoncrat spin machine over the weekend?? These gas prices are a good thing according to them. It will force people to go out and buy an electric car? You have got to be kidding me!
I am on fixed income making 1/3 of what I used to make. Any cross-country electric car will cost 3 times what I paid for my Ford. Hell will surely freeze over if I buy an EV. Don’t be misled by by these liberals. Most of these new EV only have a 200 mile range before they have to be charged. Then try and find a charging station on your way to Mom’s house.
I was an analyst for one of the largest corps in the world and read the reports on operating costs for driving EVs. First, I had to peel away all the total BS and this is what I discovered: Did you know that it costs 4 times more money to operate an EV for one year compared to a similar sized gasoline powered vehicle? Did you know it can take up to 3 days to fully charge an EV battery? And you have to do that about twice each month. That’s like running your electric close dryer for 72 hours straight. When that battery requires rebuilding after approximately 8 years it can cost as much as the vehicle itself. I know, you are going to say they last longer than that, and you would be right. But ,if you run a battery too long it cannot be rebuilt. That will cost even more. Then there is the obsolescence thing where your battery is no longer available, or the government has banned them due to environmental hazards.
When I vote next week in the primaries I will NOT vote for an incumbent. I will vote for the most impressive conservative,no matter the affiliation. America FIRST!
If you can not make money by charging $4 more per gallon then what you paid for it, you probably should go out of business.