by Geoff Fox
As everyone has seen over the last few months, gas prices have risen to $4.49 here in Hancock, which is two cents more than the average cost in Washington County.
According to AAA, the average price of gas per gallon of regular gas on Monday, May 23, was $4.47 in Washington County. In all of Maryland, the average price was $4.61. Nationally, the price sits at $4.59 for a gallon of regular gas.
That is up considerably from one year ago, which was $3.03, a gallon.
In the Hagerstown area, AAA has the current price as $4.473 on Monday. A month ago, the average cost was $4. One year ago, a gallon of gas cost $3.02 in the Hagerstown area.
In Cumberland, the average cost per gallon was at $4.48 on Monday compared to the $4.01 a month ago. A year ago in Cumberland, regular gas was sitting at $2.98 per gallon.
The record high in Hagerstown was set on May 20 with a price of $4.49 a gallon. The record high was set May 22 in Cumberland with a price of $4.50.
According to AAA, the Hagerstown area has the lowest average price per gallon for regular gas. Washington County, by $0.006, is the lowest in Maryland. Allegany County had an average of $4.48 on Monday.
In neighboring Pennsylvania, the current average, as of Monday, was $4.77 a gallon. Gas prices across the board in Pennsylvania were averaging higher than Maryland, according to AAA.
Across the river in West Virginia, average prices have been slightly lower than in Maryland.
According to AAA, West Virginia’s average gas price is sitting at $4.45 on Monday compared to Maryland’s $4.61 a gallon.
Earlier this year, Governor Larry Hogan gave Maryland residents a month-long break at the pumps by taking a 30-day gas tax holiday.
On May 19, Democrats in the House of Representatives introduced H.R. 7688, the Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act.
The Act is to protect consumers from price gouging of consumer fuels and for other purposes. In a sense, the bill would seek to lower gas prices by cracking down on alleged price gouging by energy companies.
According to CBS News, the bill passed by a vote of 217-207 with no Republicans voting for the bill. Four Democrats also voted no.
