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WILKES-BARRE — Though winter is still a ways off, retailers have recently started to sell winter-grade fuel, which could lower prices at the pump.
Gas stations were able to switch over to the new blend of gasoline last week. Jana Tidwell, spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said the difference between the winter and summer blends of gasoline involves the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP).
Tidwell explained winter-blend gas has higher RVP because it has to evaporate at lower temperatures to operate engines properly in colder weather.
“If the RVP is too low on a frigid day, the vehicle will be hard to start and, once started, will run rough,” she said.
Summer-blend gas has a lower RVP to prevent excessive evaporation when the temperatures rise. Tidwell added a lower RVP also helps “drivability problems,” such as vapor lock on hot days, particularly in older vehicles.
That RVP makes all the difference in what motorists pay at the pump.
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says conventional summer-blend gasoline contains 1.7 percent more energy than winter-blend gas, one reason why gas mileage is slightly better in the summer,” Tidwell said. “However, the summer-blend is also more expensive to produce, and that cost is passed on to the motorist.”
Cheaper prices
Currently, prices are already over a dollar cheaper than last year.
On Monday, AAA Mid-Atlantic indicated average gas prices in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area was $2.37 per gallon, $1.41 less than the average on the same day last year.
AAA Mid-Atlantic expects those gas prices to continue trending downward.
“As we head into the fourth quarter, when demand tends to dip lower and we switch over to the cheaper winter-blend gasoline, there’s little doubt that prices will continue to fall,” Tidwell said. “Prices are expected to continue to slide as driving demand experiences a seasonal decrease heading into the fall, provided the price of crude remains relatively low and refineries are able to conduct routine maintenance without issues.”