Pennsylvania Gas Prices Expected To Rise This Spring
By Elizabeth Hur
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Sticker shock at the pump!
The entire country is feeling the effects of the recent gas price hike, but 3 On Your Side found drivers in Pennsylvania could be seeing the steepest increases.
"Unfortunately, our analysts tell us that Pennsylvania is likely to be the gas price hot spot of the entire country because we had two refineries shutting down here and we may have a third by July 1st," explained Jenny Robinson, with AAA Mid-Atlantic.
The refinery closures include the Sunoco in Marcus Hook, Conoco Philips in Trainer and possibly the Sunoco in South Philadelphia later this year.
Bottom line, officials say while we may not see the highest gas price in the country since other parts of the country have already surpassed the $5 mark. But prices there won't fluctuate as badly as it will here. Their suppliers are stabilized.
Meanwhile, the refinery closings here mean that the supply in our area will be unstable and uncertain, which will result in steeper increases where we live and work.
Robinson added, "Our record price for the entire year in Philly was $3.99 a gallon, and that was set in May."
That record could be broken within the next month, with prices hovering around $4.25 per gallon.
Experts, however, note that there is light at the end of the tunnel. AAA analysts believe that gas prices could fall again in autumn, dropping by 50 to 75 cents per gallon.
