Ask Vegas Vic: Gas Prices

Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008 | 2 a.m.

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Often gasoline prices (even the same brand) vary 10 cents or more per gallon from one part of the valley to the other. Because the fuel, I believe, gets to Las Vegas by way of a common pipeline, what laws determine how much a station can charge? -- Gordon Leonard

The only law governing the price of gas in these parts is the law of supply and demand. It’s the cowboy way.

“There’s no ordinance or law that sets the price,” said Peter Krueger with the Nevada Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association. “We have a free-market economy--at least I hope we still have a free-market economy, but I wonder as the government takes over more and more businesses.”

Southern Nevada’s gasoline has since the 1960s been delivered from California refineries through a 14-inch pipeline.

The fuel that comes through the pipeline, up to 4 million gallons a day, is basic gasoline. Only afterward are fancy additives--Techron, for example--stirred in, accounting for higher prices at some “big-brand” gas stations, Krueger said.

Gas prices also vary with the cost of doing business in different locations. Insurance and security costs, and the price of land, change depending on the neighborhood.

Beyond that, the price will be “what the dealer thinks ... customers will pay,” Krueger said.

Questions for Vegas Vic should be sent to page8@lasvegassun.com.