Grand Canyon Times

The cost of gasoline in Arizona and across the U.S. is on the rise again, putting pressure on drivers' wallets. 

Record-high gasoline prices still average above $4 per gallon, as today's national average price per gallon has been reported at $4.28, up 12 cents from last week. The latest Gasoline Misery Index shows Americans will spend an average of $704 more on gasoline this year than they did in 2021. In Arizona, the average is $4.65 per gallon and residents will spend an average of $815 more this year compared to last year.

The Gasoline Misery Index tracks how much more (or less) the average American consumer is paying for gasoline on an annualized basis, according to the Index’s website. Numbers are compiled using gas price data from the American Automobile Association (AAA), average fuel efficiency (mpg) data from the U.S. Department of Energy, and average miles driven from MetroMile.com. The Index tracks the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline and adjusts using the average miles traveled by the average miles per gallon of American cars.

In January 2021, the national average price per gallon of gasoline was $2.33, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). It has increased nearly 84% when compared to Friday's national average price of $4.28. Americans are spending an average of $1,024 more per year on gasoline today than when President Joe Biden entered office, a difference the Gasoline Misery Index refers to as the "Biden Misery Index."

On May 2, AAA reported that pump prices rose again over the past week due primarily to the high cost of crude oil, which continues to hover around $100 per barrel. The price of oil accounts for approximately 60% of pump prices. Arizona's pump prices rose 10 cents in the last week.

“As long as the supply remains tight, it will be hard for crude oil prices to fall and consumers will in turn face higher prices at the pump,” Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson said. “It now costs drivers in the U.S. about $23 more to fill up than a year ago.”

In an effort to bring down energy prices, in March Biden announced the release of up to $180 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve – the nation's emergency oil reserve – over a six-month period. According to CNN, Biden announced his plans to replenish this supply, starting with the purchase of 60 million barrels of crude oil. However, this will only cover one-third of the supply from the president's record release and will take years, according to the Energy Department. Biden has yet to announce any plans of increasing domestic oil production.

On April 12, Fox 10 News reported that at a luncheon for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema told business executives, "the reasonable way to address what is going to be an oil shortage in America is for us to responsibly increase our own domestic oil production." 

The democratic senator, who is often at odds with the progressive wing of her party, called for an "all-of-the-above energy strategy," which generally means promoting the production of both renewable and fossil fuels. Sinema said the U.S. dependence on foreign oil jeopardizes its security and that of its allies.