DENVER — There is $2.99 unleaded gas in Colorado.
The Sinclair station in Kersey has $2.99 gas, which is over a dollar less than the state average, according to AAA.
AAA shows Colorado’s average at $4.01, much higher than the national average of $3.37.
In December, Suncor's Commerce City Refinery had an equipment failure and shutdown. It's still not fully up and running, so how much of Colorado’s gas price hike is because of the refinery shut down?
“Our partners in Commerce City, they supply about 40% of the market for gasoline, and when you take them out of the market, you’re relying on suppliers and refineries and pipelines that aren’t in Colorado to bring excess product into the state,” said Grier Bailey, executive director of the Colorado Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association. “Think about Denver or the North Front Range losing four-out-of-every-10 grocery stores you have. Supply shortages increase costs.”
If there is one thing gas stations do not hide, it is high prices.
“We post our prices 30 feet up in the air on the highway. We’re like the most transparent industry that there is,” Bailey said.
Colorado’s gas prices could recover after Suncor gets back to normal operations. The company has said it expects to do so by the end of March. However, Bailey cautions that Colorado drivers will not see pump relief until the fall.
“We won’t see actual price decreases until maybe September or October because we have to go directly in, especially in the Denver Metro North Front Range Area, into what’s called a summertime RVP blend,” Bailey said. “And we pay more for that formulation of fuel, which is a benefit to air quality.”
Bailey said that summer blend fuel currently costs about 15 cents more per gallon.
Because the Environmental Protection Agency determined that Denver metro area air quality is so poor, a reformulated, cleaner-burning gas will be required in the summer of 2024.
“That’s probably going to cost families in the North Front Range at least 30-to-40 cents more per gallon depending on the supply situation,” Bailey said.
According to the current data on Gas Buddy’s website, Colorado’s cheapest gas is in Kersey. The most expensive gas, at $5.59 a gallon, is in Aspen.
“In some parts, especially in the northern part of Colorado, you’re going to see wide disparities between certain stations, and a lot of that just simply has to do with where they get their fuel from. What supplier? What’s their logistical capability and what kind of market trade agreements they might have between different suppliers,” Bailey said.
Durango has gas prices around $3.33, but southwestern Colorado does not rely on Suncor.
“Durango, for example, isn’t traditionally supplied by the Denver Metro North Front Range. They get their fuel from New Mexico and Arizona and even Utah. They don’t have disruptions down there,” Bailey said.
Starting in April, the state will begin the delayed gas fee. There will be a two-cent per-gallon fee added at the pump as of April 1. That was originally supposed to take effect last July, but lawmakers delayed that prior to the November election. The fee increases one penny to three cents per gallon starting in July.
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