Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday repeatedly blamed closure of a major fuel pipeline in western Washington for driving the state’s gasoline prices to the highest in the nation.
But the pipeline isn’t shut down and hasn’t been since late June, refueling debate over how much of the recent surge at the pump is a result of oil industry profiteering versus the state’s climate policies.
Christina Audisho, spokeswoman for BP, said in an email that maintenance on its Olympic Pipeline lasted three-and-a-half days and it was fully operational by June 27. There is no maintenance underway now, she wrote. …
For the past month, Washington has consistently had the highest gas prices in the nation, with averages trailing just under $5 for a gallon of regular gas. …
While Inslee and Democratic lawmakers who joined him at Thursday’s press conference blamed the high costs on price-gouging by oil companies, Republicans say the cause is the state’s new cap-and-trade program. …
Allowance prices have been higher than expected, more than 2.5 times greater than the starting price, which some say are being directly passed down to customers at the pump.
“Blaming the brief pipeline shutdown for the highest gas prices in the nation is nonsense,” said Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, ranking Republican on the Senate Transportation Committee, in a statement. “Gas prices have been on a steady rise since January, and it is caused by the cap-and-trade program.”
“Drivers are bitterly complaining about it, so the governor and his allies are trying to shift the blame instead of admitting that this is what they wanted all along,” he said. …
Before the program went into effect, the Department of Ecology estimated it could add from 1 to 3% to the cost of a gallon of gas, spokesperson Andrew Wineke wrote in an email. That translates to 5 to 15 cents on a $5 gallon.
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