(The Center Square) – One week after the remnants of Hurricane Helene ravaged the mountains, some of North Carolina’s highest gas prices by county average are in the region most challenged.
Statewide, the average for a gallon of unleaded gasoline is $2.89 on Friday morning, a good 29 cents below the national average of $3.18, according to the website of the American Automobile Association. Diesel average is $3.47, and premium gasoline is $3.72.
The prices are down from a month ago across the board – regular was $3.08, diesel $3.61, and premium $3.91.
Buncombe County, where more deaths from the storm occurred than anywhere else in the Southeast, has average gas price of $2.92. Neighboring counties Madison ($3.17), Haywood ($2.97), Transylvania ($2.97) and Yancey ($2.93) are higher, and Henderson ($2.85), Rutherford ($2.89) and McDowell ($2.88) are lower.
For Tennessee border counties, running south to north, Cherokee is $2.97, Graham is $3.09, Swain is $2.96, Haywood is $2.97, Madison is $3.17, Yancey is $2.93, Mitchell is $2.84, Avery is $2.97, Watauga is $2.63 and Ashe $3.00. In the southwestern tip of the state, Clay is $2.85, Macon $3.05 and Jackson $3.06.
Most of the areas have dealt with power outages for seven or more days since Helene hit the area. Friday morning, there were just more than 230,000 without power – down significantly from the previous 48 hours.
Regular unleaded gasoline prices, says petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan of GasBuddy, is like most other goods bought by Americans. General economic principles have the greatest impact on pricing, and automotive fuel also trickles in the blends used in summer and winter.
Only 12 states have lower unleaded gasoline averages as of Friday morning. For diesel, 22 states are lower.
Of the three major metros, Raleigh and Wake County ($2.97) is higher than Charlotte and Mecklenburg County ($2.92) and Greensboro and Guilford County ($2.91).
North Carolina this year taxes gasoline at 40.4 cents per gallon, up 2 cents from last year and the fifth-highest in the country. States higher are California (57.9); Pennsylvania (57.6); Washington (49.4); and Illinois (45.4).
Among 14 major metro areas, unleaded gas is the least expensive in New Bern at $2.74. Most expensive is the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area ($3.05).
Diesel is the most consumer-friendly ($3.33) in New Bern.
In a state with the ninth-largest population of 10.8 million, roughly 8 million vehicle registrations are combustion engines, either gas or diesel. Total zero-emission vehicles registered is about 100,000, or 1 in 80 on the highways.
