Reality Check: Low Gas Prices

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Just when you thought gas prices couldn't go any lower – they did.

Some Twin Cities gas stations are now selling gas for lower than $2.30 a gallon, a windfall for consumers.

And the low gas prices may not end anytime soon.

The federal government reports the price at the pump is dropping to its lowest levels in five years, and drivers are feeling it.

"Oh, my God," Pat Dobier, who was filling up her car for $2.38 a gallon, said. "It makes a huge difference. It's wonderful. It's about time."

Twin Cities gas prices are averaging well below $2.50 a gallon, some as low as $2.27, putting money back in consumer pockets.

"[It makes a difference] what I can buy, where I can go. Visiting my relatives for the holidays," Dobier said.

It's a remarkable turnaround from the days of 1970s Mideast oil embargoes and gas shortages had panicked drivers lined up for hours at the pumps.

Now, oil imports account for only 33 percent of petroleum consumed in the U.S., the lowest since 1985.

Because of oil drilling in North Dakota and Texas, the U.S. is on the verge of surpassing Saudi Arabia in oil production.

For Minnesota families, it's like getting a tax cut.

Gas was $3.64 a gallon on July 1; it's as low as $2.27 now.

For a typical family buying 1,200 gallons a year, that's $1,644 in annual savings.

If it lasts.

"Usually when the gas prices go down, then a little bit later it's going to go up," Tibeesso Foge, a limousine driver, said.

The U.S. government predicts the current gas prices could stay low through 2015.

Here Are Some Of The Sources Used For This Reality Check:

US Energy Information Agency: How Much Petroleum Does the US Import?
http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=727&t=6

U.S. Energy Information Agency National Gas Price Averages
http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/