Nevadan says swing in temps balances out cost

"Hot" gasoline is not a hot issue in Nevada so far this summer, but local analysts and state officials are taking a closer look at how fuel prices are measured.

Like most states, Nevada bases gasoline prices on the energy content of the fuel when it is 60 degrees.

Some advocates want service stations to install meters that compensate for the temperature of the fuel, arguing that consumers are not getting as much energy as they are paying for when the temperatures soar.

Peter Krueger, state director of the Nevada Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association, however, said temperature compensating meters are expensive and aren't needed.

In the winter, gasoline temperatures may fall below 60 degrees, resulting in higher energy content per gallon of gasoline, Krueger said.

"We believe that it balances out, and that the public is not being ripped off here in Nevada," Krueger said, adding that "if you mandate (temperature compensating meters), business isn't going to pay for it. The public is going to pay for it."

Steve Grabski, administrator of the Nevada Division of Measurement Standards, estimated the meters would cost from $800 to $2,000 each, and Krueger noted that service stations would need three of the devices for each gasoline pump -- one for each grade.

Grabski could not calculate how much extra Nevada drivers are paying for gasoline in the summer, although he said heat expansion adds a very tiny amount to the price for each degree of temperature.

"Typically, the retail operators don't make a ton of money on gasoline alone," Grabski added.

Still, Sean Comey, a spokesman for AAA Nevada, said even a few extra cents per gallon can mean millions of dollars more profit for the petroleum industry.

"It certainly is worthy of some serious study, because it seems as if the industry is willing to make adjustments when consumers get more than they pay for. And yet, when it's in the consumers benefit (to make adjustments), always it's too expensive and too difficult."

Another option would be to change the temperature used to calculate the price of gasoline, an approach that Hawaii took.

The Nevada Legislature set the 60 degree standard, which applies in most states, Grabski said.

Since last September, Grabski has been telling his meter inspectors to measure gasoline temperatures at stations around the state. Grabski intends to collect data over a full year.