Gas prices in King County crest $5 a gallon as state continues to sport highest rates in nation

Gas prices in King County have now crossed over the $5 a gallon threshold, averaging $5.115 for a gallon of regular gas, according to AAA.

Snohomish County is just at the line, hitting $5.003 a gallon, with Pierce County’s average just about to the $5 line, with an average of $4.992.

The price is staggering, especially considering the national average of $3.535 a gallon, said AAA.

According to AAA, gas prices around the country have fallen in the past week, however, Washington has yet to see that drop at the pump.

Lower gas demand and an increase in domestic gasoline stocks have aided in the decrease in price. AAA says if the gas demand continues to drop, prices at the pump will follow.

AAA also noted the $5.116 a gallon for gas today is still less than the average one year ago, when gas was averaging $5.459 a gallon.

Last week, KIRO 7 asked Gov. Jay Inslee about the recent price increases at the pump.

Inslee pointed to the oil and gas profits that he said are the highest of any state.

He also noted a pipeline that was reportedly shut down for maintenance.

“That has a restrained supply and that has been a significant reason for these recent cost increases,” Inslee said. “It’s not all this law, but we need to take an action that will prevent this gouging that is going on and the legislature is going to have this as soon as we get back there in January.”

However, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the Washington State and federal gas tax of $0.7078 is the 5th in the country, behind Illinois ($0.858), California ($0.835), Pennsylvania ($0.806), and Indiana ($0.723), as of Feb. 2023.

The Washington State gas tax includes the state tax of $0.494 plus an oil spill administration tax of $0.04 a barrel ($0.0009523/gal), the oil spill response tax of $0.01 a barrel ($0.000238/gal), a hazardous substance tax on petroleum products of $1.20 a barrel ($0.0286/gal), a “Border Zone Area Motor Fuel Tax” of $0.01 a gallon for counties that border Canada, and another tax on petroleum products that is based on the value of the petroleum multiplied by .0015.

The total for these additional taxes is around $0.0298.

According to AAA, scheduled work on BP’s 299-mile Olympic pipeline has also caused recent rises in gas prices at the pump.

“Gasoline supplies are already fairly tight with demand in the U.S. above nine million barrels a day for the fourth week in a row. Factor in the work being done on the Olympic pipeline, and that’s a recipe for rising pump prices in Oregon and Washington,” said Marie Dodds, public affairs director for AAA Oregon/Idaho. “Relatively low crude oil prices in the upper $60s and low $70s are helping to keep pump price hikes from being dramatic this week.”

VIDEO: Gov. Inslee responds to high gas prices

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