Gasoline prices take toll on many

Stephen Curran

Thursday, Oct. 14, 2004 | 11:13 a.m.

Nevada's sharply rising gasoline prices may be caused by factors in distant corners of the world, but construction worker Ed Sarnella feels the pinch each time he visits his neighborhood Chevron station.

Sarnella, like many in the Las Vegas Valley, is caught between a rock and a hard place. He uses his 1996 GMC Jimmy to carry his tools from job to job, and filling the 18-gallon tank on his black SUV is taking a toll on his budget.

Last month, he estimated he spent $160 on gas. Now, with the average gallon of gasoline in Las Vegas up 16 cents from last month, he's already bracing for more.

"If you figure I make $2,000 a month, it's a chunk," Sarnella, who filled his tank Wednesday afternoon at the Chevron station at the corner of Eastern Avenue and Warm Springs Road, said. "Of course it'll impact my life. I'm going to have to generate more money."

At an average of $2.21 a gallon, Nevada's gas has rocketed past the nationwide average of $1.97 a gallon, according to AAA's monthly survey. The Las Vegas Valley, at $2.21 a gallon, is directly in line with the state average, while those seeking the state's cheapest gas will have to travel to Elko.

The state's most expensive fuel, $2.26 a gallon, is found in Carson City.

"It sucks," Las Vegan Ashley Drabant said while filling her Isuzu Rodeo.

A UNLV student who lives near Rainbow Boulevard and Alta Drive but works in Henderson, Drabant estimates she fills her tank once every three days.

At between $25 and $30 a visit, it's starting to add up, but Drabant, whose previous vehicle was a 1978 Jeep Grand Wagoneer, has no plans to sell her beloved SUV.

"This is small to me," Drabant said of the compact SUV. "I just feel safer in an SUV."

Bill Robinson, an associate professor of economics at UNLV, said comments like Drabant's are typical of a short-term spike, although long-term instability could change people's habits.

And, as demand from third-world countries continues to increase, future stability of America's oil supply is in question, he said.

Robinson, like other American economists, have yet to pin down how much it would take to change Nevadans' habits.

Some analysts have estimated future gas prices could rise above $3 a gallon, a price Robinson says will likely be a breaking point for most Americans.

"There's no question that if it got to $3 (a gallon), people's behavior would change," he said.

Dan Gilligan, president of the Petroleum Marketers Association of America, said instability in the Middle East and growth in China will likely keep gas prices at more than $2 a gallon for the indefinite future.

Nevada's high prices, he said, stem from the fact that the state shares its supply with California, which is among the most regulated supplies in the country.

California's "recipe" is one of 18 specially created blends used nationwide, Gilligan said.

"It makes it tough for refineries to meet the California specs," he said. "Until California adopts a more universal recipe for gas, Nevada's going to be high."

Keith Schwer, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at UNLV, said even as prices continue to climb, monthly bills in the hundreds of dollars are a smaller percentage of the average family's income than in the past.

But it's little comfort to drivers like Sarnella.

"The (prices) are going to continue to go up," he said. "I was born in 1954 and prices haven't gone down since. Don't you think we're going to get tired of it?"