Are we to blame for rising gas prices in Washington St?
Posted August 13, 2012 11:01 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BELLINGHAM, WA (NEWS1130) – The price of gas in Washington State is way up, and there’s no where that’s higher than our neighbours just south of the border in Bellingham.
Some think the increase in price is because of Canadians flocking to the US for cheap gas, but Ken Oplinger with the Bellingham-Whatcom Chamber of Commerce doesn’t agree.
“We’ve done some studies on this and there really isn’t any indication that Canadians in any way add to the gas prices here. It’s mostly issues with transportation of the fuel up to this area,” Oplinger notes.
While fuel is manufactured in nearby refineries, he says it gets pumped down past Seattle and then shipped back up.
The AAA auto club reports the average price of a gallon of gasoline in Washington is $3.87 and in Bellingham it’s just over $4.00.
“Even at the $4.01 average in Bellingham, that’s 98 [or]99 cents a litre, so it’s still well below what the prices are on the Lower Mainland.”
Oplinger adds that unless something drastic changes, Canadians will continue to fill up south of the border.
