The town may not be attracting the casinos and theme parks but fuel companies sure are setting up business.
The district of 12,700 is home to nine petrol stations. That’s a petrol station for every 1400 people in the district.
If the same ratio was applied to Dunedin, the city would have 92 stations. The reality is it has about a quarter of that with just over 20 — a station for every 6100 people.
But no-one in Gore should be complaining, as the competition brings low prices.
Some of the stations are self-serve and others walk in and pay.
The New Zealand Automobile Association Incorporated (AA) principal policy adviser Terry Collins said prices were following the greater competition model.
"The general rule is the more stations [in an area], the greater the competition and usually the lower the price.
"Thames, with a similar population, has four stations and their cheapest price is 10c more expensive than the cheapest in Gore.
"All the ComCom [Commerce Commission] studies say competition makes for sharper prices. There is no formula to how many stations is ‘right’ for a town."
The range of 91-octane prices in the Gore area is from about $2.47 per litre to $2.72 per litre, though specials sometimes drop them lower.
A Balclutha resident said they were conserving their trips and fuel to travel to Gore instead of Balclutha to buy petrol and groceries.
"It just seems weird that a fuel tanker seems to be going through the same areas to give these places fuel, yet some places are much more expensive than others.
"There is barely any point getting your essentials in Balclutha when Gore has cheaper options in fuel."
Mr Collins said Balclutha had a smaller population and four stations, which meant less competition for fuel prices.
Waitomo Gore was the most recent station to open in the town.
Waitomo group manager customer experience Greta Shirley said Waitomo had already been rolling out new stores in the South Island as part of an expansion, and the Gore station opened in March.
Mr Collins said the only limits to how many fuel stations can be in an area were up to district plans and site availability.
