Executive Order 2026-4<\/a> will ease the requirements on fuel blends, allowing for the sale of higher vapor pressure gasoline, which is typically 10 to 20 cents cheaper, according to a release from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer\u2019s office.<\/p>\n\u201cRight now, countless Michigan families are struggling with rising costs on the essentials, from groceries to gas,\u201d said Whitmer. \u201cAs governor, I can\u2019t end a war overseas or undo bad policies at the federal level that led to higher gas prices, but I will do what I can to try to give families a break. To provide relief, I\u2019m issuing an executive order taking a few actions with one aim: saving drivers money at the pump. This is yet another reason the legislature needs to pass a budget that continues tax cuts for working families and retirees, delivers property tax relief for seniors, and gives Michigan families a sales tax holiday on school supplies. Let\u2019s keep working together to lower costs and provide relief.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Iran war has thrown global oil markets into turmoil, shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, once one of the world\u2019s busiest fuel shipping corridors, handling up to 21 million barrels of oil per day, according to the release.<\/p>\n
The ripple effects hit Michigan motorists hard, with the average price at the pump having jumped to $3.89 per gallon, up from $2.99. This is a roughly 30% increase. <\/p>\n
Drivers are paying 97 cents more per gallon than they were a month ago and 82 cents more than this time last year.<\/p>\n
According to the release, Executive Order 2026-4, suspends a May 1 requirement that mandates lower vapor pressure gasoline in the following eight Michigan counties: <\/p>\n
Wayne<\/p>\n
Oakland<\/p>\n
Macomb<\/p>\n
Washtenaw<\/p>\n
Livingston<\/p>\n
Monroe<\/p>\n
St. Clair<\/p>\n
Lenawee<\/p>\n
The change opens access to less expensive fuel blends, putting more money back in drivers\u2019 pockets. Those eight counties are home to about five million residents, nearly half of all drivers in the state.<\/p>\n
Areas outside of these counties are already permitted to sell cheaper blends without a waiver, meaning similar savings are expected statewide.<\/p>\n
The executive order follows action at the federal level. <\/p>\n
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a temporary waiver suspending federal vapor pressure requirements, clearing the way for the production, distribution, and sale of a wider range of gasoline blends.<\/p>\n
Executive Order 2026-4 aligns Michigan with that federal waiver, expanding the pool of available gasoline and driving down costs for motorists across the state.<\/p>\n
People are encouraged to reach out to the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development\u2019s (MDARD) 24-hour hotline at 1-800-MDA-Fuel to report gas pricing complaints.<\/p>\n
For more information, visit MDARD\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\nCopyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has issued an executive order declaring an energy emergency amid rising gas prices driven by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":561268,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[28,8633,1303],"class_list":{"0":"post-561267","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-gretchen-whitmer","10":"tag-michigan"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=561267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/561268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=561267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=561267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}