| Page 2 of 2 < |
Leaders Question Gasoline Prices
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
"This one happened to have the lowest price," Munson said. "There are five gas stations right together here and, other things being equal, I have one that I use for repairs. But today I'm here for the price."
A few hundred feet down the street, the Shell station was closed. Milk crates had been set out in front of each pump. Raj Maharjan, a station employee, was standing in the empty convenience store, waiting for a delivery that was supposed to be there yesterday morning but still had not arrived by 4 p.m.
"I have been working here for a half a year," he said, "and this is not the first time we have no had gas. We had to close during Katrina, too."
He said that the station gets a daily delivery of 9,000 gallons and that the last one had been made Thursday morning. He said the tanks went dry at 11 p.m. Thursday.
The price of regular gasoline along this competitive stretch of highway ranged from $2.93 at the Sunoco station to $3.05 at the BP station. Jim LoMedico, owner of the Sunoco station since 1984, was selling only 93-octane grade because he had run out of everything else. All day, because he had the lowest prices among the tightly packed five stations, he had a steady stream of customers. He said he was expecting a delivery any moment. "I keep looking out the window." He said Sunoco had switched his supply to ethanol gas on Sunday.
"I like to keep the tanks full," he said. "but we have been sort of running them low lately. There's no gas shortage. It's logistics."
Fuel distributors say they face logistical challenges as terminal owners drain their tanks of gasoline laced with MTBE (methyl tertiary-butyl ether), an additive that used to account for 200,000 barrels a day of U.S. supply but has been banned for environmental and health reasons. Tanks in much of the country must be prepared for the switch to ethanol blends, as required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Out at the pumps, Richard Neubert of Falls Church was filling up. He said he rides up and down the street, checking out the prices, and then makes his choice by price rather than brand.
He was glad he stopped yesterday. "It looks to me like they are running out of gas, so the next time I come, the price will be much higher," he said, pulling the nozzle out of his car. Behind him, someone was waiting for his spot.
