Montville Gas Prices Head Up

Mideast unrest and the markets' reaction to it are being felt in Montville.

Along Route 32 on Wednesday, the price of regular gas ranged from $3.48 a gallon at one Cumberland Farms to  $3.63 at the Mobil station beside McDonald’s.

Kirk Washington, who drives a big truck with a V-8 engine, works for the Water Pollution Control Authority. He was filling up his 21 gallon tank at the Cumberland Farms across the street from Ed’s. There, the price of gas was $3.48 a gallon.

Wasington says he usually doesn’t buy gas at the Cumberland Farms, but it’s the cheapest along Route 32, by 10 cents a gallon.

The Getty station and the Shell station near the Quaker Hill line, and across the street from the other Cumberland Farms are closed now, Washington said, adding that he used to benefit from price wars at that end of town.

Washington says his truck gets about 19 miles per gallon; one reason he drives it is that he has a short commute. When he used to commute to Glastonbury, he says, he drove a Volvo that got much higher mileage.

Washington pointed out that the ethanol that’s added to fuel these days can take a toll on older engines, if it is increased above a certain percentage – a tactic that could reduce the cost of gasoline.

Boaters, too, are being hampered by the rising gas prices.

“I’m not going to be doing the boating that I want,” Washington says, adding that boaters put a lot back into the economy.

AAA has a good page that shows fuel prices by town and region. Just put in your zip code, hit a few buttons, and you’ll see a map showing the stations and, below the map, a list of stations and prices.

AAA also has a page that shows gas prices and trends across the country. Today, the average is $3.42 for regular; Wednesday, it was $3.38. A week ago, it was $3.22. The highest prices are in California, where regular is selling for an average of $3.81 a gallon.