Gas prices are surging yet again in San Diego, squeezing the pockets of drivers who were just beginning to feel some relief.
“The number one reason is that we are seeing several planned and unplanned maintenance issues at some refineries,” said Anlleyn Venegas, a spokesperson for AAA.
Venegas says that as of Wednesday, at least three California refineries are undergoing maintenance, which is reducing fuel output.
“So until refineries are operating fully, we are going to continue to see supply be tight, they won't be able to respond to high demand and prices will continue to increase,” said Venegas.
Get San Diego local news, weather forecasts, sports and lifestyle stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC San Diego newsletters.
Refineries typically undergo maintenance every few years during the spring. But David Hackett, a transportation energy consultant, says the schedule was thrown off this year in part by COVID-19 and then Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
“The companies had to cut their budgets for everything because they weren't generating any income,” said Hackett. “So 18 months into COVID-19, when things began to pick up and companies figured they were making money and they could start budgeting for their maintenance, Putin invaded Ukraine.”
Local
Much of that deferred maintenance couldn't be put off any longer, so it's happening now.
“This is causing the west coast inventory to be at its lowest level in a decade,” said Venegas.
As of now, it’s unclear how long the work will take but the longer it goes, experts say, the more we'll pay for gas.
“I think certainly [we’ll pay] $6.50 [per gallon] and potentially $7,” said Hackett.
Average gas prices in the region are 56.4 cents more than one week ago and 79.3 cents higher than last month.
At the same time, there could be some relief down the road. California’s winter blend of gasoline, which is less expensive than the state’s environmentally cleaner summer blend, will begin to circulate in November.
“We are talking between 10 and 20 cents less, that's how much prices usually go down after November,” said Venegas.
