Interview: AAA official Patti Artessa talks gas prices as we charge into 2023
The gas tax holiday in New York state has ceased as of January 1, 2023.
State fuel taxes were suspended last June amidst soaring pump prices, primarily due to the overseas conflict between Russia and the Ukraine.
After prices peaked over the summer, gasoline has steadily come back down to levels that many say are still a little high, but certainly more reasonable than the $5 plus amounts we witnessed months ago.
As of this report, the national average for a gallon of gas is $3.29, while New York's is $3.46. A year-ago now, New York's average was nearly the same, but on the way up.
You may have noticed a little jump in pump prices during the holidays, which is typically normal being it is a time where lots of families travel to see loved ones.
This latest spike, at-least according to AAA'S Northeast Regional Director of Public and Government Affairs, Patti Artessa, can be contributed to another card Mother Nature happened to play towards the end of last month.
"What they're saying now is the late winter/December storm and its frigid temperatures caused gas prices nationally to spike with the refineries as far south as Texas and the Gulf Coast forced to shut-down temporarily," she told us.
However, with the Holiday travel season over with, Artessa anticipates steady or even some fluctuation in gas prices as we charge through winter, especially with lower costs for oil.
"We're saying that 2022 will go down as a record-year with a national annual average of $3.96 per-gallon," she added. Be sure to listen to our latest on-air segment here:
According to GasBuddy, gas prices in Lowville are as low as $3.39. In Boonville, prices have gone back up into the $3.70 range. If you head north to Watertown or Syracuse areas, you'll find gas as low as in the $3.30 range and even in the upper $2.90 range.
If you, the consumer, feel as if your gas station is price gouging, the office of New York's Attorney General invites you to fill out an online complaint form.
You can also call the New York's price gouging hotline number: 1-800-697-1220.
Image via the AAA.
