Prices for the Week of May 5, 2008
|
City |
Regular |
Midgrade |
Premium |
Diesel |
Flagstaff |
3.56 |
3.64 |
3.77 |
4.24 |
Phoenix |
3.46 |
3.56 |
3.69 |
4.18 |
Tucson |
3.42 |
3.51 |
3.63 |
4.16 |
U.S. |
3.78 |
3.90 |
3.99 |
4.33 |
Source: OPIS & EIA
|
Prices for the Week of May 5, 2008
|
City |
Regular |
Midgrade |
Premium |
Diesel |
Kingman |
3.54 |
3.65 |
3.75 |
4.23 |
Show Low |
3.45 |
3.57 |
3.70 |
4.17 |
Sierra Vista |
3.52 |
3.58 |
3.73 |
4.21 |
Yuma |
3.54 |
3.63 |
3.71 |
4.16 |
| Source: OPIS |
Prices Continue Upwards in AZ & US Retail Gasoline & AZ & US Diesel Fuels
For the week of May 12, 2008 gasoline prices are up 5.3, up 2.5, and up 2.0 cents for Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff, at 345.5, 341.6, and 356.1 gallons respectively compared to the prior week. U.S. regular retail gasoline prices increased by 8.2 cents compared to the same time period of the prior week at 378.1 cents per gallon. The current price quoted is 60.8 cents more than this time last year.
Weekly Phoenix diesel fuel prices increased by 5.5 cents per gallon from the prior week at 418.1 cents per gallon as compared to the same period of the previous week. Tucson diesel prices rose up by 3.8 cent to 415.6 cents per gallon compared to the prior week. And Flagstaff diesel fuel prices jumped by 3.1 cents from the prior week at 423.7 cents per gallon for the week ending May 12, 2008. U. S. diesel fuel pricing are shooting up by 18.2 cents as compared to the same time-period of the previous week at 433.1 cents per gallon. Compared to last year at this time diesel fuel prices for the U.S. have shown a rise of 155.8 cents compared to the same time period in 2007.
To view weekly gasoline and diesel prices plus graphs of other Arizona cities, click on the city name in the tables above.
Short-Term Energy and Winter Fuels Outlook
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration released an updated Short-Term Energy and Winter Fuels Outlook. Click here to view information.
This Week In Petroleum
Source: Energy Information Administration
Released on May 14, 2008
Going the Way of the Typewriter?
A generation is growing up in the United States with no idea what a typewriter is! Once an important part of the work place, typewriters are almost impossible to find these days. Will the same be said about home heating oil tanks, outside limited areas, several generations from now? Two weeks ago, EIA released the 2005 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) housing characteristics data. The RECS is done every four years and provides information on the use of energy in residential housing units in the United States. The latest data shows that the number of households using distillate fuel oil (also known as heating oil) for their main space heating fuel has declined steadily from its peak of 17.2 million homes in 1973. By 1980, EIA estimated that 13.4 million homes (16 percent) of U.S. homes were heating with fuel oil; 8.2 million were in the Northeast Census Region, which comprises the New England and Middle Atlantic Census Divisions. Data from the 2005 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) now show the number of U.S. homes heating with fuel oil has fallen by more than half to 7.7 million homes (6.9 percent of the U.S.). The Northeast Census Region accounts for 81 percent of all homes that use fuel oil for main space heating (up from 61 percent in 1980). Although 2 million fewer homes used fuel oil in the Northeast Region in 2005 than in 1980, it remains a critical fuel for that area; 6.2 million or 30 percent of all Northeast homes rely on fuel oil to heat their homes in winter. 
Factors contributing to the decrease in fuel oil use include both homebuilder and consumer preferences for alternatives. In the South and West Census Regions, more new housing has been built with heating systems that use other fuel types, particularly electricity. The increasing availability of fuels other than fuel oil also makes fuel substitution for existing systems possible. For example, in the Northeast Census Region, about 7.8 million more homes in 2005 than in 1990 were located in neighborhoods where natural gas is available, although not always used. In 2005, a total of 15.6 million homes had natural gas available in Northeast neighborhoods; of those, about 13.6 million used gas for any purpose. Two million who had access did not use gas at all, and about 200,000 used it only for uses other than space heating, such as cooking or water heating. This suggests a potential for more use of natural gas for space heating, but over the years, this residual has been consistently small and stable.
The decline in fuel oil use is reflected in consumer choice, especially by homeowners in the Northeast. Since 1990, there have been 2 million more natural gas and 200,000 fewer fuel oil central warm-air furnace systems. During the same period, about 200,000 more Northeast households used natural gas in steam or hot water heating systems and 1.1 million fewer used fuel oil.
Although fewer homes are using fuel oil, especially in the South, the Midwest, as well as the Northeast Census Regions, other factors are affecting overall consumption for space heating. Since 1990, there are more than 17 million new housing units in the U.S. About 13.7 million are single family homes which are larger and house fewer people than in 1990. These factors partially offset improvements in energy intensities per household, per capita and per square foot resulting from efficiency gains of new appliance standards. Each time a RECS survey has been conducted, about a third of the heating systems are consistently fewer than ten years old. With new price levels for fuel oil, the next RECS will likely show even fewer homes using fuel oil and increased pressure to upgrade equipment in new and existing housing stock, and perhaps several generations from now, use of fuel oil for home space heating will be extremely rare. Click here to continue article.
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