One gas station owner in Stockton decided to maintain low prices on his own. $3.99 is the cash price per gallon at Ernie’s General Store on East Waterloo Road.
This is how Ernie Giannecchini, proprietor of Ernie’s General Store, plans to take the oil companies to task while sparing his clientele some suffering at the pump.
The difference is noticeable between this petrol station and others across the street. On Thursday, August 1, the gas price at the Chevron located on E. Waterloo Road was $4.69.
Giannecchini stated that he hopes large oil firms will take note of his pricing differential.
The head of the nation’s first gas price inspector, the California Energy Commission’s Petroleum Market Oversight, discussed results from his first year of work in an interview, including these significant pricing differences.
Regarding the variations in costs between gas stations, Tai Milder stated, “At this point, the cost differential is really hard to explain and the CEC has in the past asked the branded gasoline sellers to substantiate their claims that their gasoline is better, and they’ve declined to do so.” This is how one expert in the oil sector put it.
“If you have a branded station, people are going to expect a certain level of cleanliness or lighting, or you know the food and drinks they might find in the station,” Western States Petroleum Association spokesman Kevin Slagle stated. “Or maybe it’s an easier right-hand turn than it is making a left across traffic or something. So you know, a lot of what we see in the different costs has to do with where those branded stations are, the real estate costs.”
According to Giannecchini, the state must exert more pressure on the well-known corporations.
“People try to control the prices, but they aren’t working on watching them. It’s more of a review and they’re not punishing the companies as they said,” Giannecchini stated. “So what’s the reason not to have higher gas prices at these major companies? There’s no incentive to lower their prices.”
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Giannecchini stated that because he purchases gas in large quantities, he doesn’t lose money unless a small number of customers come in to buy it. Instead of always visiting name-brand gas stations, he believes that people will be able to continue buying gas locally.
He clarified that while many of California’s gas supplies originate from the same refineries, the gas in his pumps is not of a poorer caliber. For forty-five years, Giannecchini has owned and run his general store. According to Gasbuddy.com, the cash price for his gas is the lowest in the zip code. He promised to hold it there for as long as possible at that price.
“Some come from quite a distance sometimes just to try and get their gas here,” he stated.
