WASHINGTON — U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman told reporters in Washington that the conversion to ethanol at refineries is the reason for gasoline production setbacks that causing fuel prices at the pump to climb to record highs. Some gas stations on the east coast are seeing fuel shortages thanks to limited supplies from refiners who are still in the process of switching to ethanol while on the west coast, most transfers to ethanol have been completed. In Philadelphia, six filing stations in the area were out of gasoline because of the switch to ethanol, AAA reported. According to AAA, the national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $2.90, up 2 cents from yesterday and 40 cents a month ago. Hawaii is the No. 1 state for the highest prices paid at the pump at $3.22 per gallon of unleaded regular gasoline on Sunday. The second highest price paid at the pump is in California, where the average price for unleaded regular gasoline is $3.10 per gallon, according to AAA, with New York coming in a close third at $3.05 per gallon. The lowest price paid for unleaded gasoline is in […]