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SALT LAKE CITY — Are you getting your bang for your gasoline buck? Rising temperatures will mean less energy from the gasoline you purchase, but a state weights and measurement official has said it balances out the rest of the year.
Temperatures will start rising this weekend, meaning hotter gasoline that is pumped into your car's tank. That means less fuel energy for your buck.
Spokesman Larry Lewis with Utah's Department of Agriculture said consumers won't be ripped off in the long run.
"Over the year, though the heat and trough the cold, they are getting the correct amount of energy for their dollar," Lewis said.
That's because colder gasoline yields more energy.
According to a 2007 House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee report, Consumers paid $1.5 billion more for gas as a result of hot fuel in 2007.
Meters do exist that can regulate fuel at the pump in order to make sure the right amount is dispensed given the temperature. According to MSNBC, over 90 percent of pumps in Canada have such regulators as a result of implementing the technology over two decades.
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Lewis said that gas pumps don't have temperature controls. Lewis adds that whatever upgrades gas stations make would be passed onto consumers.
"Nationwide, there is no such a monitoring systems that regulates the temperature of gasoline and does any kind of compensation," Lewis said.
Lewis advises drivers to fill up late at night or early in the morning when it's cooler, and park their cars in the shade to keep them cool.
"If you feel better taking these measures, then we encourage people to do that. But for the most part, people are getting what they pay for when it comes to gasoline in Utah."
