When you fill up with the lowest cost unleaded gasoline in Iowa and Nebraska, rest assured you’ll be using ethanol. The Omaha World Herald reports both of the states are replacing 87 octane fuel without ethanol with an ethanol blend.
Rose White of AAA Nebraska said most consumers already use ethanol fuel blends and won’t be affected by the change.
White said consumers may notice a drop in gas prices, depending on the additive used to achieve the octane level they select. Prices will be less, she said, from producers who blend with ethanol instead of premium.
The change in gasoline formulation can be tracked to producers’ desire to simplify the production process by eliminating regular unleaded gas. Refineries will be able to more easily supply gasoline to all areas of the country.
“This fuel changeover went smoothly in other states,” said Ginger Willson, director of the Nebraska Energy Office. “States in the upper Midwest, including Nebraska and Iowa, are some of the last states changing to this grade of fuel.”
The mix has been showing up at stations for the past couple of weeks and is expected to be complete by mid-October.