Gas prices rising, and switch to costlier ‘summer blend’ still ahead

The average price of regular unleaded gasoline in California has hit $3 a gallon – really $2.999 if we’re splitting pennies – a price not seen since September 2015, GasBuddy reported Tuesday morning.

Modesto isn’t far behind, with an average of $2.79 Tuesday afternoon, according to the company, whose app and website use crowd-sourced data collection to provide real-time fuel prices at more than 140,000 gas stations in the United States, Canada and Australia.

And the state average includes the start of the shift to “summer blend” gas at the pumps. In the past three weeks, the transition to California Air Resources Board-mandated cleaner gasoline has added nearly 20 cents in areas that have made the shift, said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy. Modesto is not among those areas.

Southern California will complete the transition by April 1, he said, while areas of Central California will complete it by May 1 and areas of Northern California will complete it by June 1.

The move from winter blend to the more expensive summer blend occurs each spring. “It’s just that when air temperatures rise and when millions of vehicles are hitting the roads during the busiest travel time of the year, it adds up to a lot of air pollution,” DeHaan said. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board mandate the different formulation so it burns cleaner and results in lower vehicle emissions, he said.

In the greater Modesto area, the cheapest gas Tuesday afternoon was $2.45 a gallon at the AGHA station on East Avenue at Bothan Road in Turlock.

Next lowest was $2.49 at several Arco stations: North Golden State Boulevard at Olive Avenue in Turlock; Oakdale and Patterson roads in Riverbank; and Sylvan Avenue at Claus Road and West Orangeburg at Evergreen Avenue, both in Modesto.

The highest price was $3.19 at three Chevron stations: Geer Road and Regis Street in Turlock, Service and Mitchell roads in Ceres, and Yosemite Avenue near Delano Drive in Oakdale.

Nine other stations – Chevrons, 76’s and a Shell – throughout Stanislaus County had it at $3.09.

The average price of $2.79 was up a nickel from a week ago, 19 cents from a month ago and 58 cents from a year ago, according to GasBuddy data. An afternoon report on the website said California prices were stable at the time but Modesto’s were rising.

“With OPEC’s production cuts boosting oil prices and the typical seasonal factors pushing gas prices higher, California’s average … will likely continue moving higher,” DeHaan said in a news release. “It’s likely average prices could rise another 20-40 cents per gallon over the next few months, making it the most painful spring and summer at the pump in years.”

This story was originally published March 7, 2017 at 2:44 PM with the headline "Gas prices rising, and switch to costlier ‘summer blend’ still ahead."