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Why are San Luis Obispo County gas prices rising?

May 11, 2025

By KAREN VELIE

Even though the national price of gas continued declining last week, prices in San Luis Obispo County and California increased primarily because of a fire at one of the state’s remaining nine refineries, according to figures from AAA.

On Monday, a fire broke out at the Valero refinery in Benicia. The fire occurred several weeks after Valero announced plans to shutter the refinery next year.

Average gas prices in San Luis Obispo County rose five cents last week to $5.08 a gallon.

In California, the average price for a gallon of gas increased 11 cents last week to $4.88. Nationally, gas prices fell three cent to $3.13 a gallon.

SLO County currently has the nineteenth highest price for gas in the state. Listing the highest average price, Mono County’s price for a gallon of regular gasoline this week is $5.87 Imperial County boasts the lowest average cost at $4.43 a gallon.

Where in SLO County do you find the cheapest gas prices? Using data from GasBuddy, we’ve compiled a list of gas stations with cheaper prices.

Top 10 lowest priced gas stations in SLO County:

  1. Costco – San Luis Obispo, Froom Ranch way: $4.49
  2. One Stop Food – Paso Robles, Spring Street: $4.49
  3. Fastrip Fuel & Wayside Liquors – Paso Robles, Creston Road: $4.53
  4. Vons – Nipomo, Tefft Street: $4.55
  5. Speedway Express– Paso Robles, 24th Street: $4.55
  6. Poppy – Pismo Beach, Five Cities Drive: $4.59
  7. Mobil – Morro Bay, Morro Bay Boulevard: $4.59
  8. Conserv Fuel – San Luis Obispo, Broad Street: $4.59
  9. Arco – Paso Robles, Niblick Road: $4.63
  10. Speedway – San Luis Obispo, 296 Santa Rosa Street: $4.65

 


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California has the highest gasoline usage in the country and should have the lowest price but our politicians would rather gouge us than make it affordable.


1

I thought they were going to have some sort of commission looking into why our gas prices are so high and whether we are being gouged.. guess that didn’t happen?


1

With this in mind, I just cannot fathom why on earth folks would choose to purchase gas guzzling vehicles. Horsepower seems to such a driven motive these days.


-7

Because, at this time, an ICE car is much more productive than an electric vehicle.


Until they can get the charge time down to less than 5 minutes, (which is the time it takes to fill a gas tank) or even 10 minutes, (which the time to fill the gas tank and grab some drinks or munchies) and have enough OPERATING charging stations either at every gas station, or immediately nearby one, and create a battery that will last 400 miles regardless of the weather or vehicle accessories that is priced more than reasonable, ICE engines just make more economic sense.


I won’t mention the higher “carbon footprint” of an EV compared to an ICE vehicle.


1

Gov. Newsom is instrumental in orchestrating gas prices to top $8 in California by 2026 due to oil refineries struggling with his recent strict regulation demands.


1

The answer is that Democrat politicians in Sacramento are manic about forcing California into their imaginary Green utopia. California still has plenty of oil and gas, and refinery jobs are high-paying union jobs for the most part. We need fossil fuels, that’s the reality. Even if somehow every vehicle could be electric (leaving aside the environmental and humanitarian destruction caused by cobalt and lithium production) and somehow all the electricity came from wind and solar, we still need petroleum products for nearly every product in our lives. For example, insulation on all the wiring an all-electric nation would require. We are led by people who are immune from the consequences of their decisions. California is running on the fumes of its prior successes, and pretty soon the last bits of old California will be gone. Doesn’t have to be this way.


3