We've Surpassed Calif., Alaska in Gas Prices

Experts blame supply and taxes.

California gas prices have often ranked among the highest in the country, along with Hawaii and Alaska, but Connecticut has surpassed the Golden State and Alaska.

The average price for regular gas in Connecticut is $4.031 on July 21, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report, compared to $3.810 in California.

We are only trailing Hawaii, where a regular gallon of gas is $4.067.

Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy.com, said to expect the average price for a gallon of gas here to remain between $3.85 and $4.25 through the summer.

He attributes the prices to local supply and taxes and said the situation would be even more grim should a major storm disrupt East Coast refineries.

That’s a sobering thought since it’s been a grim month and a half for local drivers.

Connecticut gas prices have been higher than any of the other lower 48 states for 47 days since June 1, DeHaan reports.

To put that in perspective – that’s 47 out of 51 days.

The fact that gas taxes are high here will be of no surprise to Connecticut drivers. A report the American Petroleum Institute released in May shows state taxes and fees of 51.9 cents and combined state and federal taxes of 70.3 cents per gallon.

California’s state taxes and fees are 51.9 cents per gallon and a combined 68.9 cents per gallon.

High prices are something that we can expect to see for as long at the supply is lower than average and Connecticut has the highest gas taxes in the country, DeHaan said.

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