Expert explains why gas is cheaper outside of Conway

At Cumberland Farms in Gorham, gas cost $4.25, while the Conway Cumberland Farms was charging $4.59 at 1 p.m. Friday.

At Circle K, in Ossipee gas cost $4.35 while in Conway, Circle K was selling gas for $4.59.

“As a continuation of gas price gouging reported by letter-writer Ann Haralambie: BJ’s in Tilton $3.85, in North Conway $4.79,” wrote Harry Melanson of Intervale in a letter to Thursday. “In Gorham recently we paid $4.34 for gas which is further north of North Conway. Somebody ought to look into the gas-price gouging.”

In July, Haralambie wrote, “Do we have local gas price gouging? In Albany, Conway and North Conway, I see gas prices in the $4.70s and $4.80s. But in West Ossipee, gas is $4.35. In Moultonborough, Center Harbor and Meredith they are in the $4.20s.”

The Sun asked Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy about the disparity in gasoline pricing. “It’s a common issue we see with prices falling significantly and has to do with local competition,” said De Haan.

“Stations have wide latitude to pass along the lower prices as quickly or slowly as they want. Some areas, there might be more aggressive competition and thus lower prices, but the laggards will eventually pass the cost savings on,” he said.

WGME-Channel 8 asked a similar question about gas being cheaper outside of Portland. “Industry executives in Maine say local markets are driven by competition, with independent dealers often setting prices lower,” WGME reported Tuesday, adding some said prices may be high due to the tourist season.

“It’s all about competition ... If there’s only one station in a given area, they are less likely to lower prices quickly,” Gas Buddy Patrick De Haan told WGME.

According to Michael Garrity, director of communications for the N.H. Attorney General, the Granite State has “no price-gouging statute.“