At the end of 2007, the lowest price for a gallon of regular gasoline in Tooele was high at $2.99, with the average price in Utah standing at $2.98. After a slow cost decrease during January and February of this year, Utah experienced its first major spike in March, when the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline got up to $3.11. Some Tooele stations stayed close to end-of-2007 levels, with the lowest price in town being at $2.97. However, by July, Utah’s statewide average was up to $4.22.
According to AAA, the rise to more than $4 for a gallon of unleaded gas over the summer occurred because the price of crude oil, gasoline’s main ingredient, had peaked at that time. Tooele County residents had been doing all they could to reduce fuel consumption when the prices were sky high.
“I’m definitely not traveling as much or trying to use as much gas as I used to,” said John Sutton of Grantsville in July. “In fact, I just bought my wife a little Toyota Corolla so we could save on gas. We also don’t drive around as much or drive when we don’t need to. We’re doing a lot more walking as well.”
However, by November, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in Tooele was down to $2.22, and statewide it was at $2.26. Prices went down even further in December, and by the end of 2008, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in Tooele was only $1.37. Statewide the cost was at $1.40, and nationwide it was at $1.62.
Many local residents traveling for Thanksgiving or Christmas were planning on making longer-distance trips for the holidays because of the major price decrease. Stephanie Evans, of Tooele, said she had planned on going to Malad City, Idaho, near the Utah border, to visit family for Thanksgiving. She said the dramatic drop in gas prices had caused her to feel more financially comfortable about the two-hour trip.
“If gas was up to almost $4 like before, we definitely wouldn’t have gone all the way to Idaho,” Evans said in December. “When the gas prices were higher we didn’t go out as much, even to go shopping. Now that the gas has dropped, we’re definitely doing a lot more driving than what we would have done.”
Rahndi Cheney from Stansbury Park said she planned to also travel up north to Morgan with her family to visit her parents for Christmas. She said there was no way she would have traveled the nearly 70 miles if gas prices were back up near $4 a gallon.
“I would have stayed home and been by myself with my kids, even though my husband may be working for Christmas this year,” Cheney said. “I found myself staying home more when the gas was high, but now I’m traveling to Morgan more often to see my parents with the gas prices being so low.”
According to MSNBC, the recent drop in gas prices was primarily caused by the lower demand for it over the summer and fall.
Doug Radunich: dougrad@tooeletranscript.com
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