Pumping gas is more expensive on Hilton Head than in Bluffton. Here’s by how much
Worldwide oil prices literally went negative last week. So why are gas prices on Hilton Head Island and in Bluffton higher than the national average and every South Carolina metro area?
Fueling up in the Hilton Head-Bluffton metro area costs drivers $1.81 a gallon on average, according to daily data from the AAA. That’s 24 cents higher than South Carolina’s overall average and higher than the Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, and Myrtle Beach metro areas.
The national average, as of Tuesday, is $1.77 a gallon, 4 cents less than Hilton Head and Bluffton’s average.
This is the new normal during coronavirus: In 2019, a gallon of gas cost $2.62 on Hilton Head and in Bluffton, the data shows.
But as the threat of COVID-19 has forced most people inside and made the world awash in unused oil — so much so that the U.S. is running out of places to store it — some are crying foul about Hilton Head’s high gas costs.
“The closer you get to crossing the bridge, the higher the prices got,” said Ric Gorman, Hilton Head resident and CEO of GOCOM Media. “They are gouging the people who live on the island to take advantage of the stay at home mandate.”
Prices on Hilton Head vs. Bluffton
Gas prices are usually higher in all of South Carolina’s coastal counties, according to an interactive map on the AAA’s website.
AAA gas-price tracking uses county averages to compare daily prices, and the travel membership organization says it bases its information on the Oil Price Information Service.
On Monday, drivers on Hilton Head and in Bluffton paid around 14 cents per gallon more than in Charleston, 35 cents more than in Columbia, and around 34 cents more than in Greenville, according to an analysis of the data.
Just crossing the bridge from Bluffton onto Hilton Head will likely mean paying more for gas.
On Monday afternoon, customers reported that gas at the Shell gas station on Hillton Head, on William Hilton Parkway near Yacht Cove Drive, cost $1.94 a gallon. At that same time, reports showed gas at the Shell station across the bridge in Bluffton, on Fording Island Road near Moss Creek Village Drive, cost $1.59 a gallon. Both those figures are according to the site Gasbuddy, which posts user reports of individual gas station prices.
Though the differences do not seem like a lot, they can add up over time.
Joseph Neumann, a retired Hilton Head Plantation resident since 2014, said the discrepancy in prices doesn’t make sense.
“Shouldn’t it be the same[?] Or are we on the island being taken advantage of?” he said.
Price-gouging?
From mid-March to early April, South Carolina’s attorney general’s office fielded at least two price-gouging complaints regarding gas prices in Beaufort and Jasper counties, according to data received from a Freedom of Information request.
The attorney general’s office has since turned over investigation of price-gouging to local solicitors. The 14th District Solicitor’s Office, which covers Beaufort and Jasper counties, said its office is looking into the complaints.
What price-gouging actually looks can be subjective and vague. South Carolina’s statutes say it is unlawful to “rent or sell or offer to rent or sell a commodity at an unconscionable price.”
The state’s price-gouging law went into effect along with its state-of-emergency declaration.
Price gouging is more frequent during natural disasters, when some want to capitalize on high demand.
What goes into the price at the pump?
Local taxes, blends of fuel, nearby competition, brand name refineries, and even real estate all play a part in a particular location’s gas price, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores.
Those prices, however, don’t stray far from the performance of the overall oil market.
With coronavirus grounding planes, docking cruise ships, and parking cars, the effect on oil sales has been enormous..
“Pump prices have consistently declined for nine weeks, and we expect prices to decrease for at least another week,” said Tiffany Wright, AAA spokesperson for the Carolinas.
Why are prices on Hilton Head and in Bluffton higher on average compared to other metro areas?
“Hilton Head is always higher, like Asheville and Charleston,” Wright wrote in a text message. “You’re in a travel destination. (Even though most folks aren’t traveling right now.)”
This story was originally published April 28, 2020 at 12:17 PM.
