Seattle drivers woke up to a record they didn’t want.
Overnight, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded in the Seattle area hit $5.72, surpassing the all-time record set in June 2022, according to AAA. Statewide, Washington’s average is $5.51, just 5 cents shy of the state record. The national average is $4.18.
That means Seattle drivers are paying $1.54 more per gallon than the average American. And unlike the last time prices hit this level, today’s record comes with a surcharge that didn’t exist in 2022.
This record is different from the last one
When Washington set its previous gas price record in 2022, the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) hadn’t taken effect yet. That matters. The CCA’s cap-and-invest carbon auction program adds an estimated 52 to 57 cents per gallon as a pass-through cost to Washington drivers, on top of the state’s 55.4-cent-per-gallon gas tax, the third-highest in the country…