Nelsonville resident expresses frustration over high gas prices

NELSONVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) — Four years ago, Jeff Klinebriel moved back to his hometown of Nelsonville, Ohio.

“Seems like in Athens County, it’s like lawless,” said Klinebriel.

He’s talking about gas prices.

“I drive out of town to go get my fuel,” Klinebriel said. “Unless I have to, and then, I’ll get a couple dollars, just enough to get me out of town to go get it if I have to.”

According to Klinebriel, prices at pumps around Nelsonville are always cheaper.

“20, 30, 40, 50 cents cheaper a gallon,” said Klinebriel.

NBC4 took a drive around town to do a price comparison ourselves. The price per gallon at Kroger was $3.49 at the time, while GoMart and Speedway were $3.69. Further up the road in Logan, a gallon of unleaded was $3.29 at Murphy USA. But at Love’s in Lancaster — 30 miles from Nelsonville — the price per gallon was $3.04.

Before calling NBC4, Klinebriel contacted state officials to see if anything can be done to cap the cost, starting with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

“They emailed me back immediately, and said that they have no control over it, and that was done. Period,” Klinebriel said. “And then, I’ve tried the representative for this area, Jay Edwards, and no response.”

That’s when he called Better Call 4, and we took his concerns to our friend at GasBuddy, Head of Petroleum, Patrick De Haan.

“There’s not really one golden rule when it comes to how gas prices are set,” De Haan said.

Governance of those prices, according to De Haan, varies state to state. In Ohio, the price at the pump is up to each individual station, and how they set their prices is often fueled by two things: market forces of supply and demand, according to the American Petroleum Institute, and competition.

“You could in theory wake up tomorrow and the Speedway could decide to start a price war and they could be, you know, $0.20 under Kroger,” said Klinebriel. “So, gas stations are not beholden to really anyone, anyone’s agenda, aside from their own. It’s kind of like if I decide to sell my house at the top side of the market and my neighbor might decide to sell his house at the bottom, there’s nothing consumers can do. There’s nothing wrong with that situation, and this is the urgency with, just like the housing market, people need to look around and see what else might be available at a lower price.”

De Haan said the best way to fight back against high prices is for residents to continue filling up out of town. He said that may force the few stations in Nelsonville to lower their prices to win drivers back.

You can also use gas price trackers to compare prices in your region.

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