Turn right into a neighborhood with swanky homes and the gas prices go up. Turn left into a sketchy neighborhood with boarded up windows and you’ll get a deal.
Gas prices can vary by as much as 15 cents in Connecticut neighborhoods because of what is called zone pricing, something lawmakers have criticized for the past several years as unfair to drivers and gas stations.
A Connecticut legislative committee has endorsed a proposal that would stop fuel distributors from charging varying amounts to gas stations based on their location.
Lawmakers said the practices inflate wholesale gas prices in wealthy areas, putting those dealers at a disadvantage and hurting consumers.
Distributors said zone pricing allows them to respond quickly to local competition because they can immediately cut their prices to match those of nearby stations with lower wholesale prices.
The legislature's General Law Committee last week endorsed the bill, which bans zone pricing. It would require the full General Assembly's approval to go into effect.
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, a supporter of the legislation, told the Connecticut Post that the statute, which would also require fuel suppliers and gas stations to maintain detailed sale records for five years, would allow consumer advocates and authorities to check for unwarranted price differences.
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"The problem with zone pricing is really with the arbitrary and self-enriching practice of dividing the state into geographic zones without any competitive benefit to consumers," Blumenthal told the newspaper. "Price fixing can be argued and supported as a means of benefiting retailers, but the question is what is the effect on consumers."
