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SALT LAKE CITY -- Lawmakers are concerned with why gas prices in Utah are higher than the national average, and not dropping even though the price of crude oil is going down. They called in officials from the AAA and the Utah Petroleum Association to find out why this is happening.
The main reason why gas prices are higher in Utah right now is because of supply problems. That's what the Utah Petroleum Association reported to the Legislative Revenue and Taxation Interim Committee.
"A number of Utah's refineries have been down for both planned and unplanned events," says Lee Peacock, president of the Utah Petroleum Association.
Peacock says the imported supply of gas from Wyoming was also disrupted because of refinery issues. He says most of the gas refined in Utah stays in Utah, and oil companies are already bringing in as much as they can already.
"Over time that will even out," Peacock says. "Supplies will level off, and we'll get closer to the national average."
As for when gas prices will drop, Peacock says there's no completely accurate way to predict that.
E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com
