Strengthen Western Refining Capacity
Use congressional oversight and legislation to identify refinery-capacity shortages and barriers to maintaining or responsibly expanding the facilities that produce gasoline and diesel for western states.
Cost of Living • Gasoline • Energy Security
Why Is Nevada Ranked 4th Highest for Gasoline Prices?
America produces enormous amounts of oil. So why are Nevada families still paying some of the highest gasoline prices in the country?
Nevada regular gasoline: about $4.78 per gallon and inching towards $5.00 a gallon
The national average is about $4.10 per gallon. Prices change daily, so these figures should always be read with the date shown below.
AAA price data checked August 20, 2026.
Why Nevada Pays More
Nevada produces very little crude oil and has almost no gasoline-refining capacity of its own. Las Vegas depends heavily on finished gasoline and diesel delivered by pipeline from refineries in Southern California and Utah.
That means Nevada can be especially vulnerable when a refinery closes, a refinery has an outage, transportation is disrupted, or regional fuel supplies become tight. Nevada is part of a western fuel market that is less connected to the enormous refining system on the Gulf Coast than many other parts of the country.
Producing crude oil is not the same thing as having affordable gasoline at the pump.
Why More American Oil Does Not Automatically Mean Cheaper Gas
Crude oil has to be transported to a refinery, processed into gasoline or diesel, moved through pipelines and terminals, and finally delivered to local stations. A bottleneck anywhere in that chain can affect what families pay.
Western fuel markets also have fewer easy replacement options when refinery capacity is lost. That is why America's energy-security discussion must include refining, transportation, storage and finished fuel—not only how many barrels of crude oil are produced.
What Can Be Done?
Protect Nevada's Fuel Supply
Require federal energy planning to examine Nevada's dependence on out-of-state refineries and the pipelines, terminals and storage facilities that deliver fuel to Southern Nevada.
Prepare for Emergencies
Study whether strategically located emergency supplies of finished gasoline and diesel could protect western consumers during serious refinery, pipeline or international supply disruptions.
Increase Competition and Transparency
Use congressional oversight to examine refinery concentration, distribution bottlenecks, anti-competitive conduct and sudden price spikes, while giving consumers clearer information about what is driving prices.
Modernize Fuel Infrastructure
Support reliable pipelines, terminals, storage and other transportation infrastructure needed to move gasoline and diesel efficiently to growing communities such as Southern Nevada.
Measure Whether It Works
Require federal energy programs to report whether policies actually increase usable fuel supply, reduce regional vulnerability and improve emergency response—not simply whether money was spent.
Why Diesel Matters Too
Diesel prices do not stop at the truck stop. Trucks move groceries, building materials, medical supplies and countless other products into Nevada. When transportation costs rise sharply, those costs can work their way through the supply chain and add pressure to household expenses.
Fuel affordability is therefore not only about what a driver pays to fill a car. It is part of the larger cost-of-living problem.
I cannot promise you what gasoline will cost. I can promise to work on the reasons Nevada families are so vulnerable to high fuel prices.