Peacock said Salt Lake's median rack price in the past 12 months was $1.97. Denver was $2. The median in Las Vegas was $2.14, and in Pasco, Wash., it was $2.05.

In the past month, Salt Lake's rack price reportedly has fallen roughly 30 cents a gallon, suggesting that retailers have been slow to lower their prices.

"It's not helpful to take a snapshot of the gasoline marketplace," Peacock said. "You have to look at it over time to get a true picture of what's happening. Sometimes we're lower. Sometimes we're higher, but overall we're lower."

Incorrect information also appears to have compounded confusion among consumers.

John Hill, executive director of the Utah Petroleum Marketers and Retailers Association, told the Deseret Morning News last week that three of Utah's five oil refineries had recently been shut down for maintenance reasons, keeping the state's gasoline prices near record levels.

Peacock said that is incorrect.

"All the refineries are up and running, and they have been all summer," Peacock said. "A couple of them have had some technical issues with parts of their refinery, which may have slowed production a little bit during the summer. As of right now, for the most part, they're all up and running at capacity."

When contacted Monday by the Deseret Morning News, Hill responded that refinery insiders had told him that three Utah refineries had been shut down.

Utah's high gasoline prices prompted Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. on Friday to call for an investigation.

Today, industry officials will meet with Huntsman's energy adviser, Laura Nelson, and Francine Giani, executive director of the Utah Department of Commerce, to offer their side of the story.

But Walker doubts the state investigation will turn up anything new.

"The whole problem comes because of the lack of competition," Walker said. "A lot of our independent friends are just going by the wayside because they just can't compete against the big boxes, big oil and all these mega-mergers that have taken place.

"I have 23 stations. If anybody wants to buy them from me, I'll sell them to them. And then they are going to see in a heartbeat how tough it is to make money as a retailer."

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E-mail: danderton@desnews.com