(The Center Square) – Previously surging up before the Thanksgiving holiday, transportation energy prices in North Carolina on Monday are in retreat and just 2 cents above a mark not seen in just over 15 years.
For a gallon of unleaded gasoline, the average from Murphy to Manteo dipped to $2.74. That’s 2 cents higher than in March 2010, 6 cents lower than seven days earlier, and a dime better than a year ago. Diesel is at $3.52 for an average, according to AAA.
Nationally, the unleaded gas average is $3 and diesel is $3.73. Gas is 6 cents better than a week ago and a nickel better than a year ago; diesel is down 5 cents from a week ago and up 19 cents from a year ago.
Per Environmental Protection Agency rules in place from June 1 to Sept. 15, the time for less volatile summer blend fuel to be sold has ended. In general, summer fuel is considered 10 cents to 15 cents higher per gallon.
Combustion engine consumers make up more than 8 million vehicle registrations in the nation’s ninth-largest state.
North Carolina’s electric vehicle charging rate average, according to AAA, is 35.4 cents per kilowatt-hour. The national average is 38.4 cents per kWh. More than 100,000 zero-emission vehicles are registered in the state. At the start of the calendar year, the state norm was 33.5 cents per kWh and the national was 34.7 cents per kWh.
Nineteen states have lower average prices for a gallon of unleaded; 13 are lower for diesel; and 13 and the District of Columbia are lower in electric.
Among the 14 major metro areas, the least expensive average for unleaded gas is in Fayetteville at $2.61. The most expensive area is the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area at $2.86.
Diesel is the most consumer-friendly ($3.40) in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton market.
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North Carolina’s 40.3 cents per gallon tax rate for 2025 is topped by California (59.6), Pennsylvania (57.6), Washington (49.4), Illinois (47), Maryland (46.1), and New Jersey (44.9).
Motor fuel taxes in the state fund the Department of Transportation’s highway and multi-modal projects, accounting for more than half of the state transportation resources. The revenues go into the Highway Fund and the Highway Trust Fund.