Could E-15 gasoline in Connecticut help your wallet at the pump? It really depends.

The Trump administration has issued a temporary emergency waiver allowing the sale of E-15 gasoline. It has more ethanol, which comes from crops like corn.

E-15 gas has up to 15% ethanol, and the regular gas most of us fill up with is E-10, which is 10% ethanol. Typically, the less gasoline, the less expensive. But E-15 isn’t for every car, and in some cases, it could hurt it.

“They’re pretty high right now. Like it’s ridiculously high,” Timothy Sturges of Plainville said of the average gas price in Connecticut, sitting around $4 a gallon.

“Too high. Would be better a little bit lower,” Nancy Anderson of Waterbury said.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an emergency waiver allowing E-15 gas to be sold through May 20 to help lower fuel prices during the war in Iran.

“Increasing the blend by an additional 5% actually stretches the gasoline supply,” Chris Herb, president of the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association, said.

The American Farm Bureau said it could save Americans between 10 and 30 cents a gallon.

But those savings could have some drawbacks depending on the car you have. The EPA said E-15 shouldn’t be used in cars built before 2001. That would include about 103,000 cars in Connecticut, registered as classic cars, which are vehicles more than 20 years old. One auto repair shop owner in East Windsor agrees and explained that the higher ethanol content will ruin the engine.

“Hoses, injectors, O-ring seals, things like that are going to, they’re going to fail because of the ethanol,” Don Walker, owner of Don’s Auto Care Center, said.

He also adds that the fuel is slightly more corrosive to the engine and will slightly lower fuel economy, as manufacturers have engineered nearly all cars to run efficiently on regular E-10 gasoline. For newer cars, it can work fine in a pinch just as a short-term solution.

“I would say on a 2024 version vehicle, it’s probably something that you’re not even going to worry about in the next 10 years,” Walker explained.

E-15 also can’t be used in certain vehicles and small engines, such as delivery trucks, motorcycles, boats, or even lawn mowers. In fact, it’s illegal to do so.

If you want to put E-15 gasoline in your car, you’re going to have to look at the gas pump closely. Regular gasoline at most gas stations has an octane rating of 87. E-15 is octane 88.

E-15 is hard to find in Connecticut right now. Only two gas stations, in Southington and Waterford, currently offer it, and many gas stations aren’t even built to offer it.

“You have to make sure that every gas station that does receive the fuel is rated to be able to sell that product,” Herb said.

He explained that any potential relief hinges on how the war in Iran affects crude oil prices.

“So, the more the bombs are dropping, the more that supply issues arise, the more radical the price could swing, eliminating any savings,” Herb said.

Some drivers are hesitant to make the switch to E-15 gas.

“The savings wouldn’t be worth it to me at that point, then. I’m more interested in the longevity of my car than short-term savings,” Sturges said.

But for others, the savings may be worth it.

“A little bit more in my pocket to feed my husband,” Anderson said.

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