Summer Fuel, Winter Fuel, What's The Difference?

When gas prices hit $4.69 for unleaded, I decided it was time to find out the difference between summer and winter fuel. Why did gas prices rise so quickly? We keep hearing reasons for the rise in price, and some of them do make sense. I had not heard about summer blend gas and winter blend gas, but here's what it means. Twice every year in the U.S., the fuel supply changes. It's known as the seasonal gasoline transition. This change is the biggest reason for the price hike in summer gasoline. Depending on the time of year, gas stations switch between providing summer -grade fuel and winter-grade fuel. The switch started in 1995 as part of the Reformulated Gasoline Program (RFG), which was established through the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. The EPA started the RFG program in order to reduce pollution and smog during the summer ozone season, which occurs from June 1 to Sept. 15. In order to reduce pollution, summer-blend fuels use different oxygenates, or fuel additives. These blends, burn cleaner and also help compensate for a limited oil supply. The EPA says that this practice of using seasonal blends also encourages the development of alternative fuels. Summer-grade fuel is more expensive for two reasons-because of the ingredients it contains and because refineries have to briefly shut down to convert for the next season. All this being said, why is gas so high in October? The summer months are gone, the conversion to winter-blend fuel has been made, yet prices have skyrocketed in the past few weeks? They tell us things like refineries closing for short periods of time, which causes prices to rise. Who knows what to believe? I heard that Govenor Brown was going to pass some emergency legislation to reduce gas prices. I didn't know that could be done, and so far, I haven't seen any significant change at the pump. I talk often about getting an electric car, and I will think seriously about that for my new automobile. David's friend Lance bought a Chevy Volt a few months ago, and just loves it. He has about a 30 mile commute to work each day, plugs the car in when he gets to work, and it's all charged for his drive home. He hardly ever puts gas in the car. Until such time as we all drive cars using alternative energy, we'll have to deal with the price of gas. It would be nice, as a consumer, to actually understand what drives the price up and down. I don't think we have any idea.