Gas prices heat up over cold weather woes

Winter storms are boosting gasoline prices across the country and have caused increases at Brownsville gas stations within the past week.

The cost per gallon at most gas stations in Brownsville ranges from $2.59 to $2.66, an increase from last week’s range of $2.25 to $2.45.

"These prices are high for the winter, and I think they are going to keep going up," said Luis Martinez, owner of the Martinez Exxon gas station on the Expressway near Sunrise Mall. "But prices are especially higher during the summer months, when people are on vacation and moving around more."

Actually, the prices aren’t all that out of line, said Michelle Michot Foss, head of the Center for Energy Economic in Houston, a research arm of the University of Texas at Austin. Gasoline prices are typically higher during the winter, when refineries switch production from motor gasoline to heating oil, she said.

And "this year, because it is colder, there is more demand for heating oil," Foss said.

Winter storms across the country also disrupt the transportation system, making it difficult to deliver gasoline, she said.

Some pump prices this month are higher than the 2009 highs, related not only to the weather but also to a flood of speculative money that sent oil prices higher, according to a report by the Associated Press. The average gallon of gas is now just less than $2.71.

Motorists are dishing out about $135 for 50 gallons of fuel, the typical amount used by motorists per month, according to the report. At this time last year, consumers were paying about $85 a month.

Carmen Hernandez, who lives in Los Fresnos but travels to Brownsville almost daily, says the increase has taken a toll on her pocketbook.

"Even if it is only a small increase, it has an impact," said Hernandez, who was fueling up her vehicle at the Valero on the corner of the Expressway and Alton Gloor Boulevard.

Benjamin Moreno, fueling his truck only a few steps away from Hernandez, makes the trip to Brownsville for work every weekday from Raymondville.

"I think the prices are very high, but what else are you going to do?" he said. "You have to go to work every day. At least it is not $4 anymore. Prices have been very high in the past."