By Duane Good EDITOR
At the end of last week, Pennsylvanians were paying, on average, slightly more than $3.25 per gallon of regular unleaded gasoline. A week before, they paid slightly under $3.25; a month ago, $3.18; six months ago, $2.39 and a year ago, $2.43. In one year, the average price of regular gas has jumped more than 30 percent. And not surprisingly, blame is being placed on the current Democratic administration in Washington, D.C., just as fingers were pointed at Republicans in 2008 when the cost ballooned past $4 (and $5 for diesel fuel). Why has the fee for filling up escalated so notably in the past year? The reasons are varied, according to individuals close to either the motoring or petroleum industries. However, most of the contributing elements to gas prices are out of the U.S. government’s hands. Supply, Demand and the Cost of Crude Michael Butler, Mid-Atlantic executive director of the Consumer Energy Alliance (an advocacy group supporting affordable energy costs) cited supply and demand as key factors in prices being what they are right now. • With the COVID-19 pandemic still an issue in summer 2020, travel was ‘‘significantly less’’ and, with it, so was demand for fuel.
SEE GAS PRICES • PAGE A7