Fuel prices rising?

DAVENPORT — A local lawmaker claimed this week that two environmental laws from the state Legislature and Gov. Jay Inslee that took effect Jan. 1 are already causing a fuel price increase.

Republican Senator Mark Schoesler of Ritzville, who represents the 9th Legislative District, said the

Washington Independent Energy Distributors Association is reporting the increase in less than a week of new laws taking effect.

According to GasBuddy.com, a website that tracks fuel price trends nationwide, the average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline in Washington state was $3.80 on Monday.

Gas prices in Davenport were between $3.74 and $3.78 as of press time. Conoco in Wilbur was $3.80 a gallon, according to its website, while Harrington Cenex’s website listed prices at $3.52. Prices hovered around $3.89 in Odessa.

In neighboring areas, Medical Lake’s Conoco gas cost $3.66, while Love’s Travel Stop in Ritzville was $3.39 a gallon. Prices hung around $3.50 a gallon at most stations in Airway Heights.

Wholesale gasoline and diesel prices have risen statewide as a result of the “cap-and-tax” law and the law creating a low-carbon fuel standard, Schoesler said the association reported.

Both laws were passed by the Legislature in 2021 and took effect Jan. 1.

Wholesale fuel numbers last week showed gasoline prices had increased by 33.06 cents per gallon due to the “cap-and-tax” law and by 1.54 cents per gallon because of the low-carbon fuel standard, Schoesler said.

Meanwhile, the wholesale price of a gallon of diesel rose by 42.35 cents as a result of cap-and-tax and by 1.46 cents due to the low-carbon fuel standard, he said.

Several media outlets reported that a widely-rumored 46-cent gas tax increase in January was a falsehood in October. Joel Creswell of the Department of Ecology told Spokane media outlets any Jan. 1 increase wouldn’t be noticeable.

Schoesler’s statements disagreed with these assertions.

“The wholesale fuel prices that I saw clearly show that ‘cap-and-tax’ and the low-carbon fuel standard are forcing fuel prices to increase at Eastern Washington gas stations, and Western Washington gas stations likely will see a similar hike,” he said. “This contradicts claims by the governor and some of his allies that ‘cap-and-tax’ and LCFS will cause fuel prices to go up by only a few cents a gallon.”

Schoesler noted heating-fuel prices also have sharply increased in recent days, with more than two months of winter ahead.

“Now that these laws have gone into effect, we’re seeing that they indeed are causing hikes in fuel and heating-oil prices,” Schoesler said. “This will hurt nearly everyone – commuters, parents taking their kids places, truckers and delivery drivers, and those working in agriculture…These increases will act like a gas-tax hike, but with no guaranteed benefits for our roads and highways.”