PHOENIX — Pain at the pump - it's real. While heading to the gas pump, Arizonans' frustration rises as the total price ticks up.
According to data from AAA, Arizona ranks as one of the top five most expensive states for gas in the nation. Arizona also sits nearly $1 above the national average.
The big question for many Arizonans is 'why?'
Arizona does not have refineries of its own and relies on pipelines. Refineries in southern California supply the western part of Arizona and into Phoenix, while the eastern half of the state and Tucson is generally supplied by pipelines connecting to Texas and New Mexico.
"Refineries in New Mexico and Texas, that supply a lot of the gas in Arizona, they've been down for the last few weeks for maintenance," explained Julian Paredes, a spokesperson with AAA. That maintenance has impacted the gas supply to part of our state, but it will be completed soon.
What about the other parts of Arizona?
Patrick de Haan with GasBuddy says Arizona's gas demand has skyrocketed with our state's recent population boom adding tens of thousands of drivers to our state. However, the pipelines which bring our gas in haven't been adjusted to meet the higher demand.
"Pipeline capacity has not gone up. So, it's been very difficult to send enough gasoline into the market with all the population increases that we've seen in the last several years," de Haan said.
Another factor impacting gas prices right now is the switch to the cleaner-burning summer blend. However, not all blends are the same.
"Arizona is actually unique in that that change over to the summer blend actually varies from county to county. Most states aren't like that," said Paredes.
There are different clean-burning gasoline requirements for more populated counties in Arizona compared to less populated counties, which is why gas prices can differ greatly just driving through Arizona.
Arizona opted out of the EPA program which sets a nationwide standard for clean-burning gas in the summer months. Instead, Arizona chose to set its own requirements. That means suppliers have to make a specific cleaner-burning gas just for Arizona, which gets expensive.
"Instead of having one big Olympic pool of gasoline that anyone can use in the summer, Arizona politicians have said, 'No, we want our own small little pool of gasoline.' And that's problematic when things happen when pipelines don't have enough capacity," de Haan explained, adding that requiring the specialized cleaner-burning gas acts to isolate Arizona.
Then there are the individual gas stations. Some bigger stations may drop their gas prices by a few cents to recoup some of their profit by selling goods inside a store. However, smaller stations make their profit off of gas.
De Haan warns, as long as consumers are willing to pay higher gas prices without changing their driving habits, it's unlikely gas prices will drop significantly.
So, what can be done to lower gas prices in Arizona?
Arizona could change its cleaner-burning gasoline requirements to match other states, giving suppliers a bigger pool of gas to pull from without having to make a specific Arizona batch.
At some point, pipeline capacity will have to be increased to match Arizona's population growth.
For help finding the cheapest gas near you, check out prices and stations online.
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