PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Refinery and pipeline issues have caused gas prices to jump in the Pacific Northwest, leaving consumers anxious for rates to level out again.
In addition to refinery issues in Puget Sound and California, officials with AAA say there have been reports of an outage at the Olympic Pipeline that carries fuel from Washington to Portland.
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The current average for regular unleaded fuel in Oregon is $4.14, but that price jumps even higher in major urban areas like Portland and Vancouver, where rates are $4.27 and $4.48, respectively.
Oregon’s state average is nearly a dollar more than the current national average of $3.19.
“Just trying to stretch out what I can put in there as I get paid, biweekly, 20 to 30 bucks can last me about a week, but it’ll cost me about 80 to 90 bucks alone just to fill my tank,” Hillsboro resident Ja’von Johnson said.
Myles Wirt in Portland said he hasn’t really noticed that prices are higher, chalking it up to inflation in general.
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“Just everything’s getting raised, so I just didn’t even notice it, I guess,” he said.
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However, Marie Dodds with AAA Oregon/Idaho said some relief may be coming as gas stations switch from summer-blend fuel to winter-blend fuel. Winter-blend fuel tends to be cheaper because it costs less to produce.
“Gasoline supplies on the West Coast are very tight, due to refinery maintenance, and as the last of the summer-blend gas is produced. Oregon can start selling winter-blend gas on Sept. 15. This fuel costs less to produce and should help bring some relief at the pumps,” Dodds said.
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AAA says there are positive signs that these costs are coming back down, noting that they saw a half-cent decrease in gas overnight.
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