Suncor refinery coming back online, but won’t mean much for gas prices
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)-- Colorado's only oil refinery is coming back online. In December, Suncor Energy shut down for repairs following extreme cold weather and two fires.
Suncor's Commerce City refinery is one of the reasons Southern Colorado tends to stay below the national average when it comes to gas prices, but that's not the case right now.
"We’re seeing abnormally high gas prices," said Skyler McKinley with AAA Colorado.
McKinley says March is usually the cheapest time of the year when it comes to gas prices, but right now prices are rising faster and at a magnitude higher than the national average.
In Colorado Springs we started January off at $2.81 a gallon, it peaked at $4.16 in February and is now about $3.90.
McKinley says Colorado's high prices are almost entirely due to Suncor going offline in December.
"We’re never among the top five, top ten states when it comes to gas prices. We have a relatively low gas tax. We have a relatively robust supply here in Colorado," said McKinley.
The Commerce City refinery is starting a progressive restart, but a spokesperson for Suncor says it takes several days sometimes weeks to bring a plant back into service.
"You will see some stability. You will see prices fall a little bit in April, but certainly not to the same extent that they jumped when Suncor went offline," said McKinley.
AAA says part of the reason prices will stay high is that once April hits gas prices are usually .15 cents more expensive because of the summer blend and demand will be higher as people start to travel more. Coloradans won't see much relief at the pump until the fall.
