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Community Corner

Gas Woes: Where To Get More For Your Buck

Motorists are grappling with gravity-defying prices at the pump. With crude expected to reach $100 per barrel, the only immediate relief at hand is to shop around your town for the cheapest price.

These days, a trip to the gas station is a grim reminder of greenbacks draining out of your wallet. Nationwide and particularly in Connecticut, the price of gasoline continues to defy gravity.

According to Gasbuddy.com, the average price of unleaded gasoline in Connecticut rose from $2.836 a year ago to $3.321 per gallon currently. Nationwide, gas prices increased from $2.678 to $3.090 during this period. Just a month ago, prices trended at $3.256 statewide compared to $3.052 nationwide.

Why are prices higher in the Nutmeg State?

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Economist Fred Carstensen, Director of the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis at the University of Connecticut, lists three key reasons why prices at the pump are higher here compared to neighboring states.

  • The demand for crude is rising worldwide. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the price is approaching $100 per barrel, up from $72 in January 2010. In particular, emerging economies are growing between 6-10 percent and are driving the demand for commodities in general, especially gasoline.
  • Connecticut is at the end of the distribution pipeline. Almost every other state gets access to gasoline before we do. We don’t have local refineries and gasoline is shipped in through New Haven because we don’t have pipelines from refineries that come into the state.
  • Connecticut has slightly higher gas taxes compared to other states.

Balancing The Household Budget

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Higher prices at the pump are driving families to cut back on other consumption expenditure. 

Vannessa Mohamed, a resident of Oakland Street in Manchester, checks out prices in at least three different gas stations across the town before filling the tank. “I drive around to check prices at Xtra Mart, Sunoco and Mobil to see who has the cheapest gas. Sometimes I fill up at East Hartford where my mother lives, because it’s cheaper there,” she said.

To cope, Mohamed said she’s cut back on groceries, especially non-essential items like ice-cream. “I’m praying for gas prices to go down,” she said.

“Customers are very sensitive to price,” said Muhammad Shakeel, Manager at Sunoco at the intersection of Tolland Turnpike and Deming Street in Manchester. “So I check to see our competitors’ prices. If our price is higher or lower, I’ll call Alliance Energy [a New England distributor of leading gasoline brands] to adjust the pricing.”

As on Jan. 30, the gas station sold a gallon of regular gasoline at $3.27, two cents higher than Xtra Mart on Oakland Street at the next intersection.

Karen Gorman, who works at the Buckland Hills Mall, fills up wherever it is cheaper. “I’m cutting back on going out to dinner to be able to pay for gas,” she said.

Charles Baffour of Oakland Street said he buys premium grade gas trending at nearly $4 per gallon to power his two Mercedes cars. “At this price, I just make sure the trips I make are worth it,” he said.

What Folks From Out of State Are Saying 

Maria Roumbakis from Massachusetts was driving back home with her mother after shopping for bridal clothes and accessories for herself in New York. “It kinda sucks. Gas cost around $3.08 in Massachusetts and it’s at least 30 cents more for premium grade here. So we’re not filling up the tank – just enough to get us home,” she said at the Xtra Mart on Oakland Street. 

On Monday Jan. 31, the price at Citgo on 17 Windsor Ave., Windsor, stood at $3.27 for a galloon of regular grade gas. “My price is at least 3 cents less than gas stations in my area,” Sankar Dhakal, a Citgo employee, claimed.

According to GasBuddy.com, a website that lists the lowest pump prices in each town, the price of gas per gallon in Windsor was $3.29 at Citgo in 529 Windsor Ave. and $3.39 at Gulf at Windsor Ave. and Corey Street.

Hassam Malik of Public America at 1659 Storrs Rd., Mansfield, said despite the stiff prices, demand exceeds supply. “Last week we were out of gas for three days,” he said. The pump currently changes $3.33 per gallon. “Our customers are mainly students at UConn and they don’t seem to shop around for gas very much. I think it’s because their parents pay for it,” he said.

That’s not the case at Shell in 80 Ella Grasso Tpke., Windsor Locks. “Customers are very price conscious. In fact our sales have dropped in the last couple of weeks because of an increase in prices and also because of the snowstorms we’ve been having,” said Rohan Fernando, Manager. The gas station currently sells a galloon of regular for $3.29.

Motorists can check out user updated prices at GasBuddy or at Automotive.com, where you can download a Gas Price Widget and have prices e-mailed to you.

Cheapest Gas In Your Town 

Gas Station

Address

Town

Price (Regular Grade/Gallon). Updated in the last 36 hours.

Citgo

1082 Tolland Tpke. and Adams St.

Manchester

$3.18

Exxon

107 Ella Grasso Tpke. and Halfway House Rd.

Windsor Locks

$3.20

Wave

575 Middle Tpke. and East Park Rd.

Storrs

$3.28

Stop & Shop

54 Hazard Ave. and Freshwater Blvd.

Enfield

$3.09

Costco

75 Freshwater Blvd. near Hazard Ave.

Enfield

$3.09

Sunoco

404 Merrow Rd. and Anthony Rd.

Tolland

$3.29

Sunoco

11 South Main St. near Thompson Rd.

East Windsor

$3.25

Valero

1 Main St. and Somers Rd.

Ellington

$3.24

Source: www.gasbuddy.com

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