Cost Of Living Alaskan

by Robert L. Gisel


 This time last year when I flew from LA to Anchorage the only thing cheaper in Alaska was the gas. No joke. At $3.29 a gallon in LA it was, lowest in town, $2.99 a gallon in Anchorage, went up to $3.09 (lowest station) in the two weeks I was there. Still it was over $3.30 in LA. I was told the lower Anchoarge price was because it was the gas produced in Alaska.

 The price was fluctuating so much this summer Dehart's Store in my childhood neighborhood stopped posting the numbers, just an arrow, up or down. This was covered in an article in the Juneau Daily Alaska Empire. As there were questions of the prices in Seattle or elsewhere I put up these comments on the article:

 "Milsec above logged these prices from Juneau:

"6/05/08 $4.059 gal $122.54 Barrel 6/11/08 $4.159 gal $128.86 Barrel6/23/08 $4.419 gal $140.21 Barrel7/04/08 $4.499 gal $145.29 Barrel7/09/08 $4.499 gal $145.08 Barrel7/19/08 $4.649 gal $128.88 Barrel8/15/08 $4.599 gal $113.77 /Barrel "

  "In Sacramento, North side, the price has been over $4.00 a gallon since June. Mid July or so it finally hit at least $4.43, lowest stations, Kwick Stop and Exon AM/PM, and as high as $4.69 even $4.75 at Chevrons and Shell Stations. This month it finally came back under $4.00.

 "Today the price has posted at $3.72, lowest, to 10 to 20 cents higher in other stations. All of these prices were higher yet in South Sacramento. Daily the stations are given a wholesale price figure and daily the price is raised or lowered, or not, according to the competiveness and goodwill of the station manager.

 "So why not gas from the refineries in Alaska into Juneau instead of Saudi gas from Seattle? I highly doubt that it is Alaska gas from Seattle. I'd think you'd have a better chance to get cheaper gas where you produce it, even in California which refines gas and still runs among the highest prices in the nation, at least the south 48. Talk to your own, Governor or whoever will listen, as very possibly the cheapest (and home grown) gas available to Alaska is refined in Alaska.

 "There's always the alternate route: LimitlessEnergy.blogspot.com. Yank your drive train and put in an electric engine."