Experts predict gas prices will go up across southern Colorado in next week or two
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Every year, gas prices begin to climb a little higher ahead of the busy summer travel season. Several factors cause this climb, but one that could push those prices up even further this year is a change that's been coming for a while now. The deadline to switch to reformulated gasoline (RFG), a cleaner-burning formula has finally arrived.
It's all about addressing worsening air quality in our state.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), reformulated gasoline (RFG) is a gasoline blended to burn more cleanly than conventional gasoline and to reduce smog-forming and toxic pollutants in the air we breathe. The RFG program was mandated by Congress in the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments.
"The EPA isn't dropping this on their[Colorado's] laps. They've told us this was happening and they said if you don't take steps to prevent this, you're going to have to pay more for gas," said Skylar McKinley, Regional Director of Public Affairs for AAA.
Come June 1st, there will be a new type of gasoline going into your tank. Two years ago, the EPA mandated the change because of worsening smog and ozone levels in our state. Colorado's major refiner, Suncor, is preparing to change its production processes.
"The refiners are not going to produce one fuel for one part of the state, one fuel for another. Everybody in Colorado, including Pueblo, Colorado Springs, they're going to have to use this more expensive fuel," said McKinley.
According to AAA projections, consumers can expect to see prices go up another $0.30 per gallon over the next week or two.
"It's not all because of RFG [reformulated gasoline], it's because of that seasonal switchover that happens everywhere else in the country," said McKinley.
As you can imagine, this is especially frustrating for folks in southern Colorado who aren't contributing to the ground-level ozone problem in the Northern front range.
"It's definitely really scary to think about just because it's already hard enough to take care of everything," said Victoria Smith, a Colorado Springs resident.
Governor Polis has been fighting this changeover pretty aggressively for the past two years, but the EPA has repeatedly denied his appeals to waive the mandate. We reached out to his office for an interview Tuesday but the governor declined.
