Metro Detroit drivers face 10- to 20-cent gas price hike July 1 for summer blend if legislature doesn't act
Metro Detroit drivers might notice gas station prices jumping 10 to 20 cents a gallon around July 1. That's because Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's 90-day executive order in April declaring an energy emergency and postponing Michigan's summer fuel requirements is set to expire in a matter of days.
That step was in response to swiftly rising gas prices this spring, driven by the oil market disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. The average price per gallon on April 6 was $3.87, a noticeable increase from the $2.98 average price reported on Feb. 16.
Gas prices in Michigan are currently about $4.15 a gallon for regular unleaded gasoline, according to the AAA gas price database.
Southeast Michigan's summer blend of gasoline, which hasn't yet been required this year, is 10 to 20 cents a gallon more expensive than off-season gas. Under normal conditions, the reformulated gas rules go into place each summer, calling for a lower vapor pressure gasoline in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw, Livingston, Monroe, St. Clair, and Lenawee counties.
The summer gasoline blend rules, which have been in effect since 1996, are intended to prevent the release of smog-causing particles into the air, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said.
"The energy emergency allowed five million Michiganders in eight of our largest counties to save at the pump by giving them to access the same lower-cost fuel already available in the rest of the state," Whitmer explained in a letter she sent Thursday to the state legislature's leadership.
But the governor's authority in the matter can only last 90 days, and that expires on July 1.
As a result, Whitmer is asking the state legislature to extend the energy emergency through the remainder of the summer.
"I've done all I can as governor, and now I urge you to act before the deadline so Michiganders can get further relief from high gas prices. If the order expires, the eight counties currently covered by the order will be subject to fuel requirements not imposed anywhere else in the country," her letter said.
The legislature has begun addressing the matter, but those efforts are still in progress through House Concurrent Resolution 8 introduced by Rep. Donni Steele, R-Orion Township, and Senate Concurrent Resolution 14 introduced by Sen. Darrin Camilleri, D-Trenton.
