Posted on 12/15/2006 1:30:09 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
Seventeen oil companies and gasoline service stations have been named in a class-action suit accusing them of overcharging customers at the pump by failing to compensate for changes in gasoline volumes when temperatures rise.
The consumer fraud suit contends that oil companies fail to take into account the fact that gasoline expands when the temperature exceeds 60 degrees. Therefore, the suit says, consumers get less energy for each gallon they buy.
The suit was filed Wednesday by a small number of truck drivers and motorists in California.
According to Public Citizen, a consumer association, the oil industry has resisted installing equipment that can adjust gasoline volumes delivered at the pump when temperatures change. While the difference amounts to pennies per gallon, Public Citizen estimates that oil companies end up overcharging consumers by more than $2 billion each year.
The American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s largest trade group, has said that changing the existing metering systems would be too costly while benefits to consumers would be small.
The companies named in the suit include Chevron, 7-Eleven, Valero and Wal-Mart Stores.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Well Teddy Roosevelt would have liked it, too.
My personal favorite is Truth or Consequences, NM! It has a real Considerate Conservative ring to it!!!
Smartville, CA is the one I was tryin to remember on my last reply. It's not very far from Rough n Ready.
then ya burn more.
My first wife was worried when she bought a Buick Open that the German air in the tires would not work well in this country. I was able to assure that it would be okay.
The last time their argument had any merit was when sthe gas was hand pumped up to the glass container before dispensing by gravity.
Back then, probably before most of you were born, the attendants used to pump it up (short of the full line) as soon as the last customer was served and let it expand to the full mark.
You just reminded me that there's scales at some tank farms. The loading was all computerized from a remote location. The driver just parked, hooked up, waited to get loaded and then was on his way. Gas in the station needs to be sold by volume, otherwise there'd be problems. Same with the machines that use the fuels.
"Also, contrary to some people's opinion, "high-octane" gas has less energy per unit as well. "
Actually, Premium gasoline is slightly more dense on average than regular. And the energy per pound is on average the same. So Premium gasoline on average does contain SLIGHTLY more energy per gallon. But nowhere near enough to offset the price difference.
Of course that assumes the retailer sees the extra vol. Remember, the retailer gas comes from above ground tanks in to 'above ground' trucks into a below ground tank.
The retailer is going to see (sometimes) his volume contract. He doesn't see the variation on sales volume as much since as pointed out already the below ground temp is fairly stable. But he will see the above ground temp as delivered change.
"How much does a BELOW-GROUND (and below-concrete, usually) tank vary temperature-wise, anyway?"
Really not by much. Let's say if the tank is below the nominal frost line (about 3 feet in central Minnesota), the temperature is going to range from 45 to 60 degrees.
Truly, like most "Consumer Crises", this is a tempest in a thimble...
But, hey, if you're running one of those "public service" non-profits, you gotta do something to keep those fundraising phone calls pay off in contributions.
I don't want to argue a point that I know little about, but I've looked up some density tables and it looks like higher octane gas is less dense, at least for data from decades ago.
Wikipedia notes that octane is not directly related to energy, so you can make a higher-octane gas that has more energy, or less energy, based on the blend of fuel.
I think I got my information based on the use of ethanol to increase octane. Wikipedia says this:
" A premium motor fuel will often be formulated to have both higher octane as well as more energy. A counter example to this rule is that ethanol blend fuels have a higher octane rating, but carry a lower energy content on a volume basis (per liter or per gallon). "
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