(The Center Square) – Traditional transportation energy prices have skyrocketed to $3.90 a gallon for unleaded gasoline in North Carolina, highest in four years and up 7 cents overnight.
Wednesday morning’s update from AAA had a price 13 cents higher than a week earlier and $1.16 higher than a month ago – a rise of 42.3%. And the change to summer blend is coming, with refineries having already started the change in production.
Per Environmental Protection Agency rules, June 1 to Sept. 15 is the time for less volatile summer blend fuel to be sold. In general, summer fuel is considered 10 cents to 15 cents higher per gallon.
In an email to The Center Square from a regional press secretary of the White House, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “When Operation Epic Fury is complete, gas prices will plummet back to the multi-year lows American drivers enjoyed before these short-term disruptions. President Trump remains committed to fully unleashing American energy dominance, lowering costs, and putting more money back in the pockets of hardworking American families.”
The United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, and the prices of fuel have climbed since. Global energy infrastructure has been impacted by the action and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Second-term Republican President Donald Trump has said energy costs are a “very small price to pay” in comparison to neutralizing Iran’s threat to America and securing long-term worldwide security. Americans, according to polls, have mixed opinion short of full agreement.
Wednesday represented Day 33 of Operation Epic Fury. A day before it started, the statewide norm for unleaded was about $2.75.
For context, since the COVID-19 era, the state’s highs are $4.67 for unleaded on June 13, 2022, and $5.76 for diesel on June 10, 2022. That was the month when inflation climaxed at 9.1% during the administration of former President Joe Biden.
Diesel is averaging $5.64 across the state. That’s up 6 cents overnight, 18 cents in a week and $2.10 in a month – or up 59.3%.
The national average for a gallon of unleaded is $4.06, and for a gallon of diesel $5.49.
Combustion engine consumers make up more than 8 million vehicle registrations in the nation’s ninth-largest state.
North Carolina’s electric vehicle charging rate average, according to AAA, is 40.4 cents per kilowatt-hour. The national average is 41.6 cents per kWh. More than 100,000 zero-emission vehicles are registered in the state. At the start of 2025, the state norm was 33.5 cents per kWh and the national was 34.7 cents per kWh.
Twenty-nine states have lower average prices for a gallon of unleaded; 29 are lower for diesel; and 19 plus the District of Columbia are lower in electric.
Among the 14 major metro areas, the least expensive average for unleaded gas is in the Asheville area at $3.84. The most expensive is the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area at $3.95.
Diesel is the most consumer-friendly ($5.45) in the Asheville market.
North Carolina’s 41 cents per gallon tax rate for 2026 is only less than California (61.2), Pennsylvania (57.6), Washington (55.4), Michigan (52.4), New Jersey (49.1), Illinois (48.3) and Maryland (46).
Motor fuel taxes in the state fund the Department of Transportation’s highway and multi-modal projects, accounting for more than half of the state transportation resources. The revenues go into the Highway Fund and the Highway Trust Fund.
