Frenzy To Fill Up! Costa Rica With the Highest Prices in Central America
For those who didn't fill up yesterday, there are in for a whopping surprise, as gasoline jumped  ¢51 colones per litre at the stroke of midnight.

A litre of  super gasoline costs now  ¢526 colones (us$1.03 or us$3.92 a US gallon), regular jumped  to ¢504 (us$0.99 or us $3.75  a US gallon) and diesel jumped to ¢334 (us$0.66 or us$2.50 a US gallon).

For Canadians, that's  - us$4.67 for super and us$4.49 for a gallon for regular and regular us$2.99 - since the imperial gallon is bigger than the US gallon, eh!

The increase, approved last week by the Autoridad Reguladora de Servicios Públicos (ARESEP) went into effect at midnight following the publication in the official government newspaper La Gaceta.

Lines at gasoline stations were not that long last night, as many drivers took the time to fill up during the day or the night before.

In Costa Rica, all public prices are set by the ARESEP. In the case of gasoline, the Refinadora Costarricense de Petroleo (RECOPE) - the state monopoly on oil imports, refinery and distribution - must first make a request to the ARESEP for a change - up or down - and then must be approved by the ARESEP and published in La Gaceta.

Once it is published in La Gaceta, gasoline station owners can then change the price at the pumps.

The process can take as little as week and is completely public.

Complaints have been made during past increases of gasoline station operators closing their service the day before the increase, claiming they have no fuel to dispense, taking advantage of selling the lower cost gasoline at higher prices the following day.

Several gasoline stations have been investigated and no charges have been laid.

Today's increase is the largest in one single increase. RECOPE blames high prices for crude oil on world markets. However, some drivers interviewed while filling up feel it has more to do with government taxes on the product that is keeping prices high.

The increase will surely have a rippling effect as many other services like buses, taxis and transport companies will be seeking increases to offset the rising costs of fuel, which in turn will increases in other areas.

The ARESEP is waiting for a new "regulador", during which time no price changes can be made. The process of selecting and approving a new regulador is expected to take a month, which means high gasoline prices will be with us during that time or longer, no matter is theprice of crude on world markers drops.

With today's increase, Costa Rica now has the distinction of having the highest gasoline prices in Central America.

Puva Vida, Mae!