Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Sumer Garcia said she'll have to limit the number of trips outside of Portales after seeing gas prices jump more than 60 cents a gallon within two days.
The gas station attendant and mother of three said her every day routine of dropping her children off to school and picking them up will become more costly.
Most gas stations in Portales on Monday offered regular unleaded fuel for $3.07. On Tuesday evening, it was $3.69.
"It's outrageous," Garcia said. "It will take about $80 to fill up my tank. We'll be traveling a lot less."
Christina Calloway: Portales News-Tribune
Justin Jones fills up at a Portales Allsup's early Tuesday evening when gas was $3.69 a gallon. Jones said he hadn't noticed gas prices jumped more than sixty cents from Monday.
But Clovis and other surrounding communities had already seen an increase in gas prices weeks before Monday and many wondered how Portales was able to hold off for so long.
"It kind of depends on when retailers have to buy gasoline, that's how they keep prices down," said Jeff Spring, a spokesman for AAA. "If (gas prices) rose, it might mean they had got a new shipment and they had to buy it at a higher price and pass it on to you guys."
And gas prices are predicted to continue to rise as Memorial Day and the summer season approaches.
According to Jim Peach, who teaches economics at New Mexico State University, gas prices generally rise in the summer because of an increase in demand and the summer season is when most people are able to travel on vacation.
Increased summer gas prices can also be attributed to the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, requiring reformulated gasoline to be sold in the summer to reduce pollution.
People in Clovis also felt the pain at the pump on Tuesday, though gas prices were 10 cents per gallon less than in Portales.
Dallas Harness, who is about to graduate from Clovis High School, said he is worried the high gas prices will put a strain on his family's budget because they're coming from Arkansas to attend his graduation.
Harness said he isn't excited about the possibility of high gas prices in the future.
"I'm starting college in the fall in Arkansas," Harness said. "I'll be more independent. It's not good for me."
Others in the area had a different outlook on rising gas prices.
"I work all the time and I have to get gas so I just try not to pay attention to it and get it," said Justin Jones of Portales.
Jones, 24, works as an assistant in a veterinarian's office so he doesn't travel too much outside of Portales. He says he can make a tank of gas last for two weeks.
David Brown, who works at a rail yard in Clovis, doesn't need much gas to get around either.
"It doesn't matter to me, I get by on $20 a week," Brown said. "I don't drive around much."
Brown didn't notice gas prices had risen until after he started filling up his gas tank.
"It's a good thing I carpool to work," Brown said.
Here are the average prices for a gallon of regular gasoline as of Monday for New Mexico according to AAA:
