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Central Newsmagazine is Central St. Louis County's
exclusive direct-mailed community newspaper. |
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Current Issue Cover Story |
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Fuel: are you getting what you are paying for?By Mary Ann O’Toole Holley
 In older days, when gas pumps had a clear glass globe that filled to the 10-gallon mark before discharging into an automobile’s gas tank, a customer knew exactly what they were buying. Today, as the pump’s cost calculator spins, motorists do not always get what they pay for. Fill up in the coolest part of the day and make sure the gallons all add up.
Petrolaniac Mark Warner, a collector of old gas pumps and mayor of Portage Des Sioux, Mo., said he still cannot stop watching the pump versus its price when it reaches the 10-gallon mark. “That’s one way to ensure you’re not being shortchanged when you fill up at the pump,” Warner said. “At the 10-gallon mark, multiply the cost per gallon times 10 and it should be identical with the pump total.” Or, motorists can rely on the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s Weights and Measures Division. Paying at the pump is slamming people into a financial downturn and emptying wallets faster than one can say “fill ‘er up.” But area lawmakers are busy doing their part to try to clear out the cobwebs among gasoline sales regulations. The Agriculture Weights and Measures Division is watching your back, so to speak, every time a shopper checks out almost everywhere - at a grocery store, in a taxi, when buying a pound of hamburger or when filling a vehicle with gas. They are making sure consumers get what they pay for. As the state’s official keeper of standards of mass, volume and length, the division makes sure that when someone buys a gallon of detergent, he or she gets a gallon of detergent or when a motorist buys a gallon of gas, he or she gets just that. Division staff performs more than 70,000 tests on 10,000 gasoline samples annually, making sure octane is correct and fuel quality is adhered to. “It is important to consumers that we appropriately regulate gas pumps at gas stations and convenience stores across the state,” Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt said. “Missouri’s overall non-compliance rate is about 2 percent and one of the lowest in the nation. But we must continue to be vigilant with these inspections as Missouri families are already paying too much at the pump, and we want to help ensure they at least get what they paid for. Meanwhile, I will continue to urge the Congress to get serious about gas prices and energy costs by increasing energy production with more drilling and more refineries so we can reduce gas prices and our reliance on foreign sources of oil.” The Missouri Department of Agriculture inspects Missouri’s more than 66,200 retail motor fuel dispensers twice a year. The Weights and Measures Division has 17 inspectors testing gas pumps and performing safety inspections at retail filling stations. In addition, three inspectors check locations for fuel quality and one inspector monitors terminal truck meters. “The Weights and Measures Division follows up on every consumer complaint regarding a fuel dispenser,” said Ron Hayes, division director of the Weights and Measures Division at the Department of Agriculture. “Most meters rejected are out of tolerance in favor of the consumer, and many times, the consumer is getting more fuel than they paid for. With skyrocketing fuel costs it is natural for consumers to question the accuracy of gas station pumps. There are usually legitimate reasons for any discrepancy between the amount of fuel metered by a gas pump and an automobile’s rated fuel tank capacity; however, it is important that we conduct these checks for consumers.” Due to various reasons, including design characteristics, manufacturing processes and the physics associated with its components, some manufacturers estimate that a vehicle’s fuel tank capacity can vary as much as 3 percent from the tank’s actual rating located in the vehicle’s manual, Hayes said. According to the Division of Weights and Measures, there is a small area at the bottom of the fuel tank that is considered unusable because the fuel pump cannot reach that level to dispense fuel. All gas tanks are designed with the proper vapor space for expansion and contraction of the stored fuel. Hot gasoline can heat up costs In March, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill pushed leaders of the Senate Commerce Committee to hold a hearing on a bill that would require automatic temperature compensating equipment in all retail gas station pumps to adjust the price of gas as it expands due to warmer temperatures. Reports indicate that Americans currently spend $2.57 billion more than they should for gasoline and diesel fuel due to gasoline expanding in warmer temperatures, McCaskill said. “Missourians are being cheated at the gas pump, and it’s time Congress put a stop to it,” McCaskill said. “With gas prices at $4 a gallon or more, every penny counts, and Americans shouldn’t be paying more to get less.” McCaskill’s proposed legislation was inspired by the “hot fuel” controversy, which uncovered that the simple laws of physics were scamming consumers at the pump. Retailers currently measure gas at 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and consumers are paying a price for gas based on that temperature. However, warmer temperatures cause gas to expand and, as a result, consumers are getting less gas when the temperature soars during St. Louis’ hot summer months. Fuel expands and contracts depending on temperature. At 60 degrees, the 231-cubic-inch U.S. gallon puts out a certain amount of energy. But fuel often is sold at much higher temperatures, causing the gas to expand and the amount of energy, by volume, to decrease. Despite the temperature outside or in the underground gas tanks, consumers still get only 231 cubic inches per gallon because retail pumps in the United States make no adjustment for changes in the volume caused by temperature, McCaskill said. In addition to requiring all retail gas stations to install the new temperature compensating technology within six years, the F.A.I.R. Fuel Act would offer assistance for retailers to comply and impose penalties for those who fail to ensure consumers are receiving the gas for which they pay. Big oil companies have argued successfully for decades that it would cost too much to retrofit the nation’s fuel pumps, particularly for independent retailers. The industry also argues that consumers simply would not understand fuel pumps that adjust for temperature change. Did you know... There is no doubt that record-setting high gasoline prices are making consumers pinch their pennies. However, did you know that if a gasoline station’s price is 18 cents above the national average, you can report the station to Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon’s Consumer Protection Hotline? The Energy Information Administration has a Web site for individuals to check these averages on a daily basis and be able to compare them to today, yesterday, a month and a year ago. (Beware: it may be depressing if you look back too far.) Keep in mind according to Missouri law, unless a gas station is selling 18 cents above the national average, they can set their prices as they see fit. Nixon sued gas stations for price gouging in the aftermath of Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina. Missouri’s price gouging regulations prohibit charging excessive prices for necessities (including gasoline) in disaster areas, and price gouging is an unfair practice under state consumer protection laws. If you believe a particular gas station is charging excessively for gas, provide the Missouri Attorney General’s office with any specific information concerning that specific station. This should include the business name and its location along with any substantiating documents. Do not submit complaints about the price of gas in general. To report a gas station, contact the Consumer Protection Hotline at (800) 392-8222 or file a consumer complaint online at consumer.ago.mo.gov/.
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