The average price of regular gasoline has dropped below $2 per gallon for the first time since early 2009, according to the state’s monthly fuel price report. The average price is $1.97 per gallon, but it’s likely prices won’t stay this low much longer.
As Bob Sparadeo finishes filling his car in Randolph, he recalls those not-so-long-ago days when prices were nearly double what they are now, and he had a 70-mile daily commute.
“At one point several years ago, I was paying as much to commute to my job as my mortgage,” he says.
At Bob’s M&M Beverage, where Sparadeo is filling up, gas is $1.81 per gallon.
Owner Bob Moreau is happy to share what he paid for the gas he’s selling, reading the prices he’s scribbled on the back of a Jack Daniels sale flyer.
“My gas I got Tuesday, I paid ... $1.663954, so $1.66 for my gas Tuesday, which is very, very low. It hasn’t really got down quite that low until now,” he says.
The lower prices provide Moreau with a little room to increase his profit margin on regular unleaded from 10 cents to 15 cents per gallon; more on higher octane gas.
"My gas I got Tuesday, I paid ... $1.66 for my gas Tuesday, which is very, very low. It hasn't really got down quite that low until now." — Bob Moreau, Owner of Bob's M&M Beverage
Moreau says with prices so low, regular customers like Bill Sharron don’t mind the higher profit margin. Sharron says when prices were high it cost him $150 to fill up his old truck.
“It’s definitely helping everybody, I’m sure of that," Sharron says. "I’ve got a little smaller gas tank than I used to have, but right now I’m happy all around."
Another customer, Renee Veilleux of Rochester, says the lower prices help, but for the amount of driving she does, it’s not a big windfall and the money is used for other expenses, rather than saved.
Whatever the savings may be, its likely they won’t be as great in coming months.
“We believe there’s still a couple of weeks left where consumers can expect to see the price at the pump decrease,” says Gregg Laskoski, a senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy, which tracks gas prices in every state and nationally.
Laskoski says prices will rise as refineries shut down for annual maintenance and transition from a winter blend of gasoline to a more expensive, less polluting summer blend required by the federal government.
“This year consumers are somewhat insulated when we look at the prices rises that we’re expecting because they’re going to be starting from a much lower floor than where they started last year,” says Laskoski.
Prices are expected to rise as refineries shut down for annual maintenance and transition from a winter blend of gasoline to a more expensive, less polluting summer blend.
Last year, according to the state fuel price report, gasoline prices topped out in July at $2.77 per gallon.
Laskoski says because crude oil prices will remain low, they shouldn’t reach those levels this summer.
“In Vermont when prices peak, we might just be looking at a statewide average of about $2.50 a gallon,” he says.
Prices may be lower than last summer, but they will still be an adjustment for consumers and for convenience store owner Bob Moreau, who heard his share of complaints when gas prices were higher.
Moreau says he’s been enjoyed lowering the prices on the sign outside his store.
“Every time I do, people get excited. They come to me and I’m a hero!” he says.
The state’s fuel price report is based on a survey done near the beginning of every month. Since the February survey was taken, prices have dropped even further and according to GasBuddy they currently average $1.90 per gallon.
