Perfect. Not only are temperatures around the world going up due to global warming, but this study indicates that, at least in America, warmer weather means drivers get ripped off at the pump.
A new study by the California Energy Commission estimates that California drivers were overcharged $376.4 million on gasoline in one year because fuel pumps don't adjust for changing temperatures. The study estimated that truckers in the state spent an extra $61.1 million on diesel fuel.
Why?
Gasoline expands when warmed, like other fluids. But gas is dispensed by volume, so in warmer months, you get less gasoline.
Consumer groups want the state to mandate pumps that adjust for temperature. Those pumps are widely used in Canada, because long, cold winters would cost oil companies money. It figures, doesn't it.
However, the report goes on to say Californians are damned if they do, and damned if they don't.
California's station owners would have to spend a $102 million to $123 million on equipment in the first year and face annual costs of $1.2 million to $10.3 million. The owners probably would try to recoup those expenses by raising the price of gasoline as well as the cost of car washes and coffee in their convenience stores, according to the report. They also would boost prices to compensate for any profit they lost as a result of the new temperature-adjusting pumps.
Basically, it would cost so much to modify pumps, consumers would see no gain.
One good thing: the economic crisis has brought the price of gas down, so if we drivers are being cheated, it's at least costing us less.
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