The town of Somerset from Kentucky entered the retail gas business last week by opening a municipal-run filling station that offers cheaper gas. The Somerset Fuel Center is selling regular unleaded fuel for $3.36 a gallon, which is lower than some neighboring competitors.
Somerset mayor Eddie Girdler says the station was created after years of complaints from citizens about high gas prices in the town of about 11,000.
Obviously, the initiative frightened owners of local filling stations who found themselves competing with the city. They say the government has no business intervening into the private sector, with one storeowner labeling it as socialism.
However, the mayor is standing firm behind the idea of the city-run station. “We are one community that decided we’ve got backbone and we’re not going to allow the oil companies to dictate to us what we can and cannot do. We’re going to start out small. Where it goes from here we really don’t know,” Girdler said according to an Associated Press report on Fox News. .
He added that prices will be based on an average regional price for gas and will include a small markup to cover costs. The city’s goal is not to make a profit, but to lower gas prices and attract more visitors into Somerset, where gas prices are often 20 to 30 cents a gallon higher than in neighboring towns. The mayor says many visitors fuel up elsewhere, costing Somerset millions of dollars in retail sales.
By Dan Mihalascu
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