b'IPM&CSA Member NewsE Idaho BusinessesHave No Control Over Gas PricesEvery Idahoan has been enjoyingnot been updated to keep up with Southern MATT BERRYrecord-low gas prices.While thoseIdahos exploding population. Also, theIPM&CSAPresident prices have put the hurt on local family- Salt Lake refineries have had a shortage of owned businesses like mine, they arecrude oil, which has driven our costs up. undoubtedly a reflection of the incredibleFurthermore, the Boise metropolitan area is volatility in the market - to the benefit ofone of, if not the, most isolated metro in the the consumer. Theyve been set by factorslower 48 states. All those factors combine out of my control, or the control of anyoneto raise the cost of simply getting gas to selling fuel in the Gem State. Now, as IdahoIdahos pumps.starts to get back to work, that volatile mar- When youre paying for a gallon of gas, ket is pushing those prices up sharply. Youyoure also paying taxes. This is another mightve already seen the prices in yourfactor out of our control. Youre shelling neighborhood spike a dime or more in a sin- out more than 52 cents per gallon in state gle day. But remember, that cost increase isand federal taxes. That money doesnt stay for the same reasons as the huge price drop:with us. It helps fund the roads and bridges factors completely beyond our control. you drive on every day.There is a myriad of factors that make upThe final factor in gas prices is by far Idahos gas prices, which we can track fromthe most important: the cost of keeping the oil fields to your tank. The first factor isIdahoans employed and the doors open as the price of crude oil, which plummeted thisessential businesses. Convenience stores year to a negative dollar amount, for theemploy tens of thousands of Idahoans first time ever. A glut of crude worldwideacross the state and have continued to do helped create Idahos historically low pumpso throughout this pandemic. Its been our prices. The next factor/step requires refiningprivilege to provide essentials like food that oil. Normally, the price of fuel starts toand fuel to people when theyve needed it go up this time of year as refineries transi- most, despite spiking operating costs and tion to a summer blend, which costs moreplummeting sales. Whenever you buy gas, to make. Once the refineries have done theiryoure also helping family-owned compa-job, we need to get that finished product tonies, small businesses, and job-creatorsour gas stations. This is where, as Idahoans,stay afloat.we see our costs go up.Idaho is the only Northwest state withoutGas prices are starting to normalize very an oil field or a refinery. That means, wequickly. As you can see, the formula for that must bring in every single gallon of gas weprice is layered, complicated, and out of sell from out of state. Northern Idaho usesour hands. What we, as convenience store refiners in Montana and Washington, andoperators, can control, is providing goods sometimes barges on the Columbia River.and services during tough times in our state. Southern Idaho, the most populous part ofThats essential, and its our honor to do it.the state, gets its gas from just one pipeline out of Salt Lake City. That pipeline hasS40 www.wpma.com / Summer 2020'