Merced County drivers are feeling pain at the pump. Could relief be on the way?

With the price of gas at an all-time high, Merced County and California drivers are feeling the pinch – and the pain – at the pump.

However, with the March 31 announcement by President Joe Biden to release 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, prices across the country could come down, at least slightly.

Gas prices have increased dramatically following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.

The plan entails releasing 1 million barrels of oil a day for six months. Still, some finance experts think the price drop resulting from the release will be marginal at best.

For example, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said he could see the Biden administration’s action cut prices as much as 10 to 25 cents a gallon, but called that a shaky prediction.

Merced County residents are particularly vulnerable to the impact of high gas prices, as the median annual household income here is $56,330 — one of the lowest in the state, according to the U.S. Census’ latest numbers. By comparison, California’s median household income is $78,672.

Meanwhile, the average price of a gallon of regular gas in Merced County on Friday was $5.70, according to the AAA gas prices tracker. The average price for mid-grade gas was $5.90 a gallon, while premium was $6.05.

The cost of diesel fuel was $6.43 per gallon on average in Merced County as of Friday.

The pinch on Mercedians’ wallets might be a little easier to bear at certain gas stations. ARCO in Santa Nella, one the area’s most rural communities, could save local drivers some money because regular gas was $5.19 a gallon on Friday, according to GasBuddy.

“Everybody’s complaining about (the price increases),” said Angel Rodriguez, who manages a Chevron gas station off Highway 99 in Merced. “From what I heard from the guy we buy the gas from, it’s going to keep going up.”

Rodriguez said his supplier marks the station’s supply up by 30 cents a gallon. Because of the skyrocketing gas prices across the board, fewer customers are stopping in the convenience store to buy snacks and other items.

“It’s about maybe $40 more to fill up (my gas tank),” Rodriguez said. “It’s taking $93 to fill it up completely. I’m just dipping into my savings and putting it on my credit card and paying it off every month. I know people who are putting it on their credit card and just paying what they can.”

With the price of gas increasing so dramatically, the financial burden is compelling some California residents to drive less, reducing the demand for gas compared to the average demand for this time of year, representatives from AAA said.

According to a AAA report released in March, the organization found that 59% of Americans said they would make changes to their driving habits or lifestyles if gas increased to more than $4 a gallon.

The percentage of Americans who would make driving habit changes increased to around 75%, if the price per gallon gas reached more than $5 a gallon, said Aldo Vazquez, spokesperson for AAA Northern California.

“That could be largely due to the fact that people are really impacted by the prices,” Vazquez told the Sun-Star. “They’re saving more money and doing things like eating out and enjoying themselves less.”

There are some efforts by the state Legislature to help Californians deal with high gas prices, though those proposals are still pending.

For example, under a tax refund plan proposed last month by Gov. Gavin Newsom, each California resident could receive $400 for each registered vehicle, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The plan would cap payments at $800 for any person with more than one registered vehicle.

Additionally, Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, have a proposal offering $200 refunds for each taxpayer and dependent, excluding the wealthiest 10% of earners, Los Angles Times reported.

California leads in highest gas prices

According to gasoline price information aggregator GasBuddy, California is the only state where gas was more than $5.23 a gallon as of March 31. Las Vegas is the only metropolitan area outside of California sharing the high gas price burden Golden State drivers are feeling.

Most of the United States is paying less than $4.47 a gallon of gas, with the price at the pump increasing further west.

In northeastern Nevada, most of Oregon and Washington state, the price gets a little higher, rising to $5.23 a gallon, according to GasBuddy.

One driver of gas prices in California is that transporting oil to the Golden State has unique geographical challenges that other states don’t have. Plus, California residents pay higher gas taxes than other states, largely to fund infrastructure projects — which remains a topic of hot debate at the State Capitol.

According to GasBuddy, the average unleaded gas price across the country Friday was $4.20 a gallon. That’s a drastic increase over last year’s average unleaded gas price nationwide – $2.87 a gallon. California’s average this time a year ago was $3.90.

According to an Energy Information Administration report released this week, crude oil inventories decreased this week by 3.4 million barrels, reducing the country’s inventory of crude oil by 18% below last year’s levels and 14% below the five-year average for this time of year.

AAA’s gas prices chart shows the March 31 average for premium gas in California was $6.23 a gallon, compared to the nationwide average of $4.90. For diesel, the March 31 average nationwide was $5.11, and in California, it was $6.42.

David Lightman of The Sacramento Bee contributed to this report.

This story was originally published April 2, 2022 at 7:00 AM.