Yes, you’re paying more for gas in South Carolina. Will prices fall as Texas recovers?

Mitchell Willetts
·2 min read

It’s not your imagination, you are paying more at the pump in South Carolina.

A gallon of gas has climbed up to $2.42 on average in the Palmetto State, according to AAA, a 14-cent increase from just one week ago.

Last week’s severe winter storms plunged temperatures to record lows in Texas and disrupted oil and gas production, driving up prices.

“Crude production is offline because refineries are now closed,” said Tiffany Wright, spokesperson, AAA – The Auto Club Group in the Carolinas. “Until operations resume and production is back to normal levels, we can expect to see the spike in prices stick around.”

Weather-related shutdowns took about 20% of the country’s refining capacity offline last week, McClatchy News previously reported.

South Carolinians are paying 25 cents more for a gallon of gas than they were last month, and 22 cents more than a year ago.

That said, prices are higher in other states, and South Carolina is among the “top 10 least expensive markets” when it comes to gasoline, AAA said.

The national average sits at $2.63, the highest it has been since October 2019, according to AAA.

The cold front has moved out of Texas and temperatures are now in the 70s along the Gulf Coast and experts expect gas prices to fall as oil producers get back to business as usual, according to GasBuddy, a gas price-tracking app for smartphones.

“With the cold weather behind us, price increases show begin to slow later this week or next week, and so long as these refineries get back online in short order, we may see gas prices start to move back down in the next couple of weeks,” Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, said.

But De Haan cautions that those low prices may be short lived, and that weather is once again to blame.

“As we near spring weather, we’ll likely see another longer term rise in prices begin as refineries start to transition to summer gasoline, so motorists shouldn’t jump for joy just yet,” he said in a release.

During the warmer summer months, gas companies produce fuel that is less prone to evaporation from heat, a process that is more expensive, according to GasBuddy.