Michael Giberson
An effective zone pricing ban in Connecticut would have the effect of equalizing the wholesale price to gasoline retailers in the state. As such, it would benefit some retailers and harm others.
TheDay.com presents commentary from an owner of a retail gasoline station who expects to be harmed by the zone pricing ban currently under debate in the state:
Like the cost of living, the cost of doing business in Connecticut varies widely depending on your location…Retailers are given the flexibility to price their goods as a reflection of their overhead, as well as recognizing what their competitor down the street may be charging. The same system is used for the sale of gasoline…
If distributors are required to sell gas to dealers like us at the same price regardless of what external marketing conditions might be, we will not be able to compete and will very quickly go out of business.
A bill against zone pricing would benefit a very small, wealthy population and would have a devastating impact on eastern Connecticut’s residents. We have managed to keep our doors open in the midst of a financial crisis… Now, as the summer travel season approaches and the light at the end of the tunnel nears, our livelihood is once again in jeopardy as a result of a short-sighted attempt to cut gas prices for a select group of Fairfield County residents.
As I said of the New York zone pricing ban which went into effect last November, in essence a zone pricing ban is consumer protection for the affluent. This “protection,” if it has any effect at all, will come primarily at a cost of higher prices and poorer service in less affluent neighborhoods.
NOTE: Search for all zone pricing posts at Knowledge Problem.