California’s rising gas prices reached a statewide average of $4.13 per gallon in early October. The rising costs are stemming from issues happening within local refineries.

The nation’s average is sitting at roughly $2.636 per gallon. Prices in California tend to be higher than that average due to higher emissions standards. Though the standards have recently been barred. The federal government deemed that California did not possess the appropriate powers to enforce stricter standards than those set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Maintenance deficiencies occurring at Chevron and Marathon Los Angeles refineries, are creating a lack of supplies to reach the public and therefore accounting for the rising prices.

Today, gas prices are hitting the pockets of Californians whether they commute or are driving locally for work or school during the week. Depending on where in the state a person lives, they’ll have to spend some sort of time driving to their weekend plans.

“Gas prices are hitting me a lot,” said Nelson Reyes, a criminal justice major. “I pretty much just go to work and school and that’s it.” Reyes commutes from Diamond Bar to attend class at Fullerton College.

Prices also depend on which gas station a person fuels up at. If you go to Shell or Chevron it is going to cost a little more, though they do provided additives to their fuel that are advertised to help with engine longevity. ARCO appears to be lowest cost, but typically do not add anything to their fuels.

The surge in gas price are not new to California. In June 2008, the average cost of fuel was $4.531 per gallon.

California’s gas typically fluctuates seasonally in price, during peak vacation times and during planned maintenance by refineries. However, over the years average gas prices in this state have slowly crept up higher and higher, as seen below in a chart made by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Remember to budget and watch out for any unnecessary expenditures until these hikes in gas prices pass.