HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT The sign reflects the cost of gas at the Rebel station at the corner of Highways 372 and 160 on Thursday afternoon. Drivers have to be wondering: Is there any relief in sight? Advertisement

The price of gas edged back down two cents per gallon at many service stations in Pahrump this week, from a high of $3.15 per gallon for regular unleaded.

Some public officials are now starting to talk about alternative fuels powering their fleets of vehicles.

Cameron McRae, Nye County School District Transportation Director, said he's looking into using bio-diesel to power school buses, like Clark County is doing.

The Nye County school district buys gas through the state purchasing program, which McRae said can be as much as 30 cents less than the price at the regular pumps, but sometimes it's close to the regular consumer price.

"We spent probably half a million dollars a year on fuel, maybe even a little more. It's been a strain but we've continued to try to do things to keep the added mileage down," McRae said.

It's difficult, he said, since school buses average six miles per gallon and one route in Pahrump is 184 miles per day after dropping off students at two different schools.

McRae said he's in the process of putting in fuel pumps at the bus yard on west Highway 372 so drivers don't have to travel to fill up at the county yard, saving some mileage. It would require separate dispensing facilities to use bio-diesel fuel, he said.

Nye County Comptroller Pam Webster said prices the county pays Western Energetix for fueling county vehicles ranged from $2.37 per gallon at the end of September 2006, to $2.53 by New Year's, to $3.13 per gallon at the end of May, about the price consumers were paying at their local gas station.

Motorists faced high prices for gas of more than $3 per gallon last summer, but the price went down in the fall to a statewide average of $2.49 per gallon by the end of November. Michael Geeser, a spokesman for the Nevada AAA office, said prices tend to fall by Labor Day. Gas prices tend to be their highest around Memorial Day.

"Prices are already starting to come down and we expect that to continue with one more rise in the summer which generally comes around the end of July, early August," Geeser said. "That's right around hurricane season back east when investors have a repeated fear there's not going to be enough product in the market."

That's also when families take their last big road trip of the summer, he said.

"This year there has been a lot of talk about the lack of inventory that's been on the market," Geeser said. "When inventory goes upward prices tend to go back down. It's when there isn't enough inventory and demand is high the price goes straight through the roof."

Like school bus drivers, sheriff's deputies can't cut back patrols because of high gas prices. Sheriff Tony DeMeo said his deputies assigned to the vast Amargosa Valley may drive from 150 to 300 miles per shift.

"In certain cities you have to have a certain amount of your fleet alternative fuel. One of the things we're looking at is natural gas vehicles," DeMeo said. "If gas it at $3 and something, a gallon of natural gas would cost me $1.25 per gallon."

DeMeo said there isn't any truth to fears that vehicles powered by natural gas would explode on impact. "There isn't any noticeable decrease in pursuits," he added.

Literature the sheriff received showed it could cost $2,500 to $4,000 per vehicle to convert to natural gas.

"But those are things we looked at. Those are things I think we should as a county look to fund alternate fuels," DeMeo said.

Like McRae, DeMeo said there would have to be a special type of refueling station built for alternative fuels.

"Lexus came out with a hybrid police car police in the U.K. are using, it actually outperforms a Crown Victoria," the sheriff said.

The department could also look at using V-6 engines instead of the V-8 engine in the standard Crown Victoria squad car, DeMeo said.

Valley Electric Association just signed an agreement to purchase power from Powerex Corp., a Canadian company, which will allow VEA to keep its rates the same through 2008, barring any unforeseen circumstances, VEA Chief Executive Officer Tom Husted said.

"Our portfolio for '08 is basically filled. We may need a little bit here and there because of the weather but this covers about 98 percent of our needs," Husted said.

The cost of purchasing power amounts to 64 percent of the expenses of the cooperative. A large part of those purchases are tied to natural gas prices, Husted said. Wholesale power costs for VEA almost doubled from 3.5 cents per kilowatt hour to 6.7 cents in the last three years, he said. Natural gas prices seem to parallel the rise in crude oil prices, according to a chart released by VEA.

"The price of natural gas dictates what the price of electricity will be in this market," Husted said. "We've done a number of things to reduce our overall operating expenses and then we're able to I guess take advantage of this contract."