If you're taking a road trip this Thanksgiving, you might want to gas up before heading north. Gas prices in some communities never came down to Sacramento levels after the Camp Fire.
Gas in the Yuba-Sutter area has historically been within a couple of cents of Sacramento prices, and has usually been less. But Patrick De Haan with the gas monitoring service Gas Buddy says that changed.
"November of 2018. Prices were in a downward motion in both Yuba City and Sacramento but Sacramento prices declined a little more rapidly," De Haan said as he reviewed a chart comparing the two cities.
Yuba City and Marysville prices never did decline as much as Sacramento’s and have stayed higher ever since. Friday morning 87 unleaded was $3.49 at the ARCO ampm on West El Camino Avenue in Sacramento. It was $3.79 at the ARCO ampm on Bogue Road in Yuba City.
Many people who live in the Yuba Sutter area fill up elsewhere and don’t understand why prices are cheaper south of the area and north as well.
Leslie Hall lives in the area and was filling up the family SUV and says 15-20 cents a gallon strains a family budget.
“It's really hard when my husband drives 150 miles a day to work. Every day. He usually fills up in Sac," Hall said.
Balraj Takhar is the owner of the two Yuba City ARCO ampm's. He said it’s not his fault that for most of the past year, his gas prices were 16 cents higher at his south Yuba City location compared to the Sacramento ARCO ampm on El Camino Avenue.
He blamed ARCO, which supplies his gas. He claimed the company was responsible for setting prices. “Call ARCO,” he said.
A statement from ARCO ampm says that's not true.
Gasoline prices are "ultimately set by the individual retail sites, which are independently owned and operated," the statement read.
As Tommy Triplett filled up his pickup at the Bogue Road ARCO AM/PM, he expressed doubt that the same fuel delivered to a station in Yuba City would cost more than fuel delivered to stations farther away from the refinery where it was created.
"We go right up the road to Live Oak and its 10-to-15 cents cheaper," he said. "They (the fuel trucks) are going even farther to deliver it. I don't understand it why it's so expensive here."
Takhar could not explain why gas was an additional 10 cents higher at his downtown Yuba City ARCO location just 3.3 miles away.
If ARCO ampm is right, the price Takhar sets has a ripple effect. Quik Stop managers say they call Quik Stop’s corporate office, EG Group, which sets the price based on fuel prices, the prices at the local ARCOs and other competitors. Two unaffiliated, mom-and-pop gas stations say they base their prices on Quik Stop’s.
Gas Buddy says if the other stations don't set their prices lower to compete, prices will stay high.
"The competition instead may instead be choosing to not undercut or be competitive in what's been a challenging year for gas stations," De Haan said.
De Haan also said stations associated with large petroleum producers have a requirement to purchase a certain volume of branded gas, made by those companies. Recently, branded gas has been between 30 and 50 cents higher than unbranded gas. Stations can purchase unbranded fuel once they run out of the other. But he says it could cause a small increase in prices, but wouldn't account for a full year of higher prices.
On Thursday November 21 the difference between the ARCO ampm's in Yuba City and the El Camino station in Sacramento had jumped to 40 cents. It was down to 30 cents on Friday.
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