WEBVTT - Why Are Gasoline Prices Higher in the Summer?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff Lauren Vogebaum here. Unfortunately for American drivers, gas

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<v Speaker 1>prices often go up during the summer, starting around Memorial Day.

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<v Speaker 1>There are many reasons behind the increase in summer fuel prices,

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<v Speaker 1>and some are fairly logical. More people traveling, especially on

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<v Speaker 1>family vacations and road trips, increases demand. Also, in the

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<v Speaker 1>spring months, energy companies conduct maintenance on their refineries, shutting

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<v Speaker 1>them down and limiting capacity until late May, decreasing supply,

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<v Speaker 1>and because of these disruptions, oil supplies can become stretched.

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<v Speaker 1>In addition, natural disasters like hurricanes can increase prices by

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<v Speaker 1>disrupting transport routes and damaging refineries and other infrastructure. But

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<v Speaker 1>did you know that the gasoline sold during the summer

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<v Speaker 1>is actually different and more expensive to produce than that

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<v Speaker 1>sold in the winter. Twice every year in the United States,

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<v Speaker 1>the fuel supply changes. It's known as the seasonal gasoline transition.

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<v Speaker 1>This change is the biggest reason for the price hike

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<v Speaker 1>in summer gasoline. Depending on the time of year, gas

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<v Speaker 1>stations switch between providing summer grade fuel and winter grade fuel.

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<v Speaker 1>This which started in nine as part of the Reformulated

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<v Speaker 1>Gasoline Program, which was established through the nineteen ninety Clean

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<v Speaker 1>Air Act amendments. The Environmental Protection Agency or EPA, started

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<v Speaker 1>the Reformulated Gasoline Program in order to reduce pollution and

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<v Speaker 1>smog during the summer ozone season, which occurs from June

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<v Speaker 1>first to September fift In order to reduce pollution, summer

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<v Speaker 1>blend fuels use different oxygenates or fuel additives. These blends,

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<v Speaker 1>the e p A says, burn cleaner and also help

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<v Speaker 1>compensate for a limited oil supply. This practice of using

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<v Speaker 1>seasonal blends also encourages the development of alternative fuels. Remember

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<v Speaker 1>that gasoline isn't just made up of processed crude oil.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a blend of refined crude oil and different compounds

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<v Speaker 1>and additives. The actual difference in cost of production varies,

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<v Speaker 1>and it can add between five and fifteen cents per

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<v Speaker 1>gallon to the cost of your fill up, depending on

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<v Speaker 1>where you live in the United States. No matter the

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<v Speaker 1>difference in production costs, the increase at the pump is

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<v Speaker 1>even greater owing to the summer driving season dips and

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<v Speaker 1>supply maintenance costs, and companies converting to production of summer blends.

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<v Speaker 1>The summer grade fuel burns cleaner than winter grade fuel.

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<v Speaker 1>This means that it produces less small and releases fewer

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<v Speaker 1>toxic air pollutants. During the summer, pollution is a frequent

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<v Speaker 1>concern due to increased levels of smog and ozone, which

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<v Speaker 1>can harm the lungs. The summer heat boosts the formation

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<v Speaker 1>of ozone, while the appearance of an inversion layer, which

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<v Speaker 1>is an im mobile layer of air, can trap pollutants

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<v Speaker 1>in the lower atmosphere. Summer grade fuel has a different

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<v Speaker 1>read vapor pressure, or r VP than winter grade fuel,

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<v Speaker 1>which contributes to its being marginally more eco friendly. R

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<v Speaker 1>VP is the vapor pressure of gasoline measured at a

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<v Speaker 1>hundred degrees fahrenheit that's thirty eight celsius. The fuels with

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<v Speaker 1>higher r VP evaporate more easily than those with lower

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<v Speaker 1>r VP. A particular fuel blends r VP is based

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<v Speaker 1>on the combined r VP of the ingredients that make

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<v Speaker 1>up the blend. Irregulators worry about this evaporation because it

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<v Speaker 1>contributes to ozone formation. The gasoline must have an r

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<v Speaker 1>VP below fourteen point seven pounds per square inch or

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<v Speaker 1>p s I, which is normal atmospheric pressure. If a

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<v Speaker 1>fuel's r VP were greater than that, excess pressure would

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<v Speaker 1>build up in the gas tank and the fuel could

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<v Speaker 1>boil and evaporate. Depending on where you are in the US,

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<v Speaker 1>the e p A standards mandate and r VP below

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<v Speaker 1>either nine point zero or seven point eight p s

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<v Speaker 1>I four summer grade fuel. Some low regulations call for

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<v Speaker 1>stricter standards, and because of these varying r VP standards,

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<v Speaker 1>more than fourteen different types of fuel blends are sold

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<v Speaker 1>throughout the US during the summer. Because r VP standards

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<v Speaker 1>are higher during the winter, winter grade fuel uses more

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<v Speaker 1>buttane as an additive. With its high r VP of

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<v Speaker 1>fifty two p s i. A winter grade gas has

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<v Speaker 1>about ten percent butane in its blend. Butane is inexpensive

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<v Speaker 1>and plentiful, contributing to lower prices. Summer grade fuel might

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<v Speaker 1>still use butane, but in lower quantities around two percent

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<v Speaker 1>of a blend. So when do companies start producing these

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<v Speaker 1>different summer fuels. The e p A defines April to

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<v Speaker 1>June as the transition season for fuel production. Refineries switch

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<v Speaker 1>over to summer blend production in March and April, and

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<v Speaker 1>gas stations have by June one to switch to selling

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<v Speaker 1>summer grade gas, while terminals and other facilities upstream from

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<v Speaker 1>pumping stations have to switch by May one. Following summer

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<v Speaker 1>driving season, companies switch back to winter blends beginning in September,

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<v Speaker 1>with the first winter increase in r VP allowance occurring

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<v Speaker 1>on September. In a two tho one report, the e

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<v Speaker 1>p A said that quote roughly seventy five million Americans

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<v Speaker 1>breathe cleaner air today due to the seasonal fuel program. Still,

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<v Speaker 1>the increased price, combined with the use of controversial additives

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<v Speaker 1>like ethanol, which is less energy efficient than gasoline and

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<v Speaker 1>produces more small, means that the program may still have

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<v Speaker 1>its detractors. In times of crisis or natural disasters, the

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<v Speaker 1>e p A may waive the summer fuel mandates. Two

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<v Speaker 1>recent examples were the ransomware attack that caused the Colonial Pipeline,

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<v Speaker 1>which supplies gas to states all along the East Coast,

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<v Speaker 1>to shut down, and the COVID nineteen pandemic. In In

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<v Speaker 1>the former case, the waiver was to keep fuel prices

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<v Speaker 1>from getting too high, and in the ladder, the drop

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<v Speaker 1>off in gasoline demand meant that more time was needed

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<v Speaker 1>to transition from winter to summer fuel. As gas storage

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<v Speaker 1>is limited. Today's episode is based on the article why

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<v Speaker 1>is gas more expensive in the summer than in the

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<v Speaker 1>winter on house to works dot com written by Jacob Silverman.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is production of Our Heart Radio in partnership

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<v Speaker 1>with house toffworks dot Com and it's produced by Tyler Klang.

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<v Speaker 1>Four more podcasts from My heart Radio, visit the heart

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