Energy In-depth: Consumers To Spend $700 Less At The Pump In 2015

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EIA: CONSUMERS TO SPEND $700 LESS AT THE PUMP IN 2015
With crude oil prices expected to remain below $60 a barrel for the remainder of 2015, the average U.S. household will spend about $700 less on gasoline in 2015 compared with 2014 as annual motor fuel expenditures are on track to fall to their lowest level in 11 years, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its most recent short-term forecast.

As of today, the national average price of gas has increased about seven cents per gallon over the past week due to sharply rising crude oil costs. Still, today’s national average of $2.46 per gallon represents the least expensive average for this date since 2009 when pump prices fell to $2.06 per gallon.

California at $3.15 continues to lead the market posting the nation’s highest retail average for gasoline, and is followed by Hawaii ($3.07), Alaska ($2.98), Nevada ($2.80) and Washington ($2.75), according to the AAA’s Daily Fuel gauge. Drivers in South Carolina ($2.21), Mississippi ($2.23) and Alabama ($2.24) are paying the lowest averages at the pump.

Arkansas drivers are paying on average about $2.29 for a gallon of regular unleaded, AAA statistics show. Prices are expected to continue ratcheting upward toward Memorial Day on May 25, the official beginning of the U.S. vacation season that runs through Labor Day.

EXXONMOBIL TO PAY NEARLY $5 MILLION TO RESOLVE MAYFLOWER OIL SPILL CIVIL CHARGES
Oil and gas giant ExxonMobil Corp. will pay nearly $5 million in state and federal civil penalties to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act and state environmental laws stemming from the 2013 crude oil spill from the Pegasus Pipeline in Mayflower, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) Director Becky Keogh announced Thursday. Read the full settlement details here.

ARKANSAS LINEMEN HEAD TO SOUTH AMERICA TO PROVIDE ELECTRICITY TO GUATEMALAN VILLAGES
A group of linemen from the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas are headed to Guatemala on April 29 as part of an effort to provide electricity to remote villages in the South American country.

Duane Highley, president and CEO of the Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Corp., said the current mission will involve the villages of Sepamac, Jolom I’Jix and Zapotal, and will result in bringing electricity to more than 1,390 rural Guatemalans in the northeast part of the country.

“Arkansas Electric Cooperative linemen are changing lives with each mission that is completed,” Highley said. Cooperative crews from Arkansas and Indiana will assist in construction of electric distribution line, related infrastructure and provide some training to local line workers.

Linemen and their respective cooperatives that are participating in the project are: Matt Lairamore and Kyle Metcalfe with Arkansas Valley Electric of Ozark; Andy Caywood with Carroll Electric Cooperative of Berryville; Michael Counts and Andy Ward with Clay County Electric of Corning; Brent Hufstedler with Craighead Electric Cooperative of Jonesboro; Kirk Kempson with First Electric Cooperative of Jacksonville; Joey Burk and Paul Garrison with North Arkansas Electric Cooperative of Salem; Richard Freeland of Ouachita Electric Cooperative of Camden; Ryan Hayes with Southwest Arkansas Electric Cooperative of Texarkana and Will Glover with Woodruff Electric Cooperative of Forrest City. Doug Evans, safety manager for Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Inc., will also assist the crew during the trip.