Gas prices are on the rise again, and Californians are feeling it more so than the rest of the country.
The average gas price in the state was nearing $6 a gallon once again while the national average remained well below $4, according to AAA data as of Tuesday morning.
While the state average stood at $5.88 a gallon Tuesday morning, Bay Area motorists were seeing the higher end of that spectrum, with average prices ranging from a low of $5.85 in Solano County to a high of $6.12 in San Mateo County, AAA data shows.
Those Bay Area prices have gone up about 60 cents a gallon over the past month.
Energy experts say the reason behind the spike is a number of refineries are currently offline – down for maintenance and other issues.
"I would expect given what’s going on at the refinery level, we could very easily see another 60 cents or dollar go into the price of gasoline over the next few weeks," said Severin Borenstein, director of UC Berkeley’s Energy Institute.
Borenstein said California desperately needs more focused oversight of the state’s gas market to help keep prices in check.
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In the meantime, he said motorists should take time to shop around.
"I think some stations are going to charge high prices if people keep going to them, but if you go to the cheaper station, not only will you save money, but you will put pressure on high-price stations to lower their prices," he said.
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