Gas prices have reached a new record high in Connecticut on Wednesday, according to AAA.
As of Wednesday, the average price of gas in our state is $4.41 per gallon. That's up about six cents since Tuesday and up 66 cents from last week.
Now where does your money go when you fill up your gas tank?
- About 70 cents is going to taxes.
- There's a federal excise tax of about 18.4 cents per gallon.
- There's also petroleum gross receipts earning tax, which is now about 27 cents.
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So why is one gas station so much higher than the next a few minutes down the road? It's possible rent could be higher, wages could be higher and insurance could be higher.
“We see the price of gasoline so it highlights, 'wow that’s a higher price than it is a mile down the road.' But it’s the same for the milk that they’re selling, the bread that they’re selling, so it is a function of the location more than someone trying to take advantage,” said Connecticut Energy Marketers Association President Chris Herb.
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The price at the pump is expected to keep rising now that President Biden banned oil from Russia. Only about eight percent of our oil in the U.S. comes from Russia. Without it, there will be more of a demand for other oil, which drives up the price.
"Not having access to the supply means we need to get it somewhere else and the question is 'are we going to drill more here and extract more here? Are we going to have to depend on nations that aren’t favorable to us like Iran? Or Venezuela? That have horrible human rights records," said Herb.
Biden said the U.S. will be releasing some of our oil reserves, but Herb said the last two releases did not stop prices from increasing.
If one of our gas taxes was eliminated, Herb said it would be a temporary band-aid. He said we probably wouldn't even notice it since the prices of gas have continued soaring every day.
AAA is reminding residents that if your car doesn't require premium gas, you shouldn't waste your money. Other tips from AAA about stretching your fuel mileage can be found here.
