cost of gas

[phoneman]

less then 4 years ago in OKC it was $.99 gal

[snb778]

still glad i filled up at 2.88 or so..now its up to 3.55+

[Acidburn]

so glad im not driving now, the nike express aint so bad but i sure do miss my Imp

[power_turd]

WASHINGTON - Soaring gasoline costs prompted thousands of complaints Thursday to federal officials about alleged price gouging and demands by some members of Congress for an investigation into gasoline markets.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Energy Department reported more than 5,000 calls to its price gouging hotline from motorists around the country, although officials emphasized there was no way to immediately determine how many of the allegations were valid.

Department spokesman Drew Malcolm said the reports were being turned over to the Federal Trade Commission.

The states with the most complaints were North Carolina, Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Illinois, Tennessee, New Jersey, Michigan and South Carolina.

Meanwhile, attorney's general from a number of states held a telephone strategy session to discuss the rapidly escalating gas prices and possible investigations into gouging. Prosecution for price gouging is generally a state matter unless it involves some form of collusion or other activity in violation of federal antitrust laws.

Gas prices jumped 35 cents to 50 cents a gallon overnight in some areas pushing to well over $3 a gallon after Hurricane Katrina shut down nine Gulf Coast refineries, disrupted gasoline pipelines to the Midwest and East and stopped 90 percent of the oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.

"If we get consumer complaints about (gasoline) prices, we'll look at those complaints to find evidence of anticompetitive conduct," said John Seesel, the FTC's associate counsel for energy issues.

But Seesel said the FTC has no jurisdiction over an individual gas station operator raising his price, no matter how high, unless there is some collusion among retailers. A number of states, however, have anti-gouging statutes. Following FTC policy, he declined to say whether any investigation were underway.

On Thursday, Attorney General Troy King of Alabama initiated a private telephone conference with a number of his colleagues from others states to discuss strategy in response to the rising gas prices and reports of huge overnight spikes by some gasoline retailers. No details about the private discussion were available.

There have been isolated cases of unusually huge price jumps, including a gas station in Georgia that briefly charged $6 a gallon when competitors ran out of gas. In Michigan, there was a price jump of nearly $1 a gallon overnight, although prices then receded, according to Rep. Fred Upton (news, bio, voting record), R-Mich., who drove around his district on Thursday to gauge prices.

"Prices are averaging $3.19. It's as high as $3.58 from $2.61 on Tuesday," said Upton in a telephone interview. "My sense is the supply and demand equation does not fit a 60-cent (a gallon) increase in the last 36 hours."

"In Illinois, prices are reported to have shot up 50 cents per gallon overnight and the state attorney general received more than 500 reports of price gouging," nine Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee wrote the FTC, asking the agency to step up its review of gas markets.

"These increases go far beyond anything justified or relating to the market disruptions caused by Hurricane Katrina," wrote Rep. John Conyers (news, bio, voting record) of Michigan, the committee's ranking Democrat, and the other members.

____

Energy Department: http://www.doe.gov

[Dtowncats]

Where I am, the gas prices Wed. morning at 7:00 am were 2.59/gal. I got out of school at 12 noon and on the way home I noticed the same place was now at 2.89/gal. Then at 2:00 pm on my way to work it was 2.99/gal. After work(around 11:00 PM) it was 3.09/gal. Thursday morning it was 3.19/gal and that is where it is now. .50 in 1 day, that is rediculous!!!! Looks like it is time to give up the Mustang for a 4 cylinder. I always wanted a Legacy GT with a turbo. Anyone wanna buy a 92 Mustang GT?

[bigluis]

i herd it going to get to about 5.57 in n.o damm and we complain about 2.90-3.10

[vosschs]

well i just paid 3.59 a gal! cant even get 3 gallons for ten bucks errr!

did anyone hear any stories on the news or something about gas going to lower after labor day weekend? or no

[ss3079]

Went up a penny to $1.21 this morning ... supposed to get as high as $1.50 / litre before it starts heading back "down".

[ss3079]

Still 106.4 cents/liter here ...

I remember driving home from the Island last year. Prices increased as you got further and further away ... I had figured it was the opposite.

[kustyn727]

gas is 3.70 where i live, its crazy. yesterday morning it was 2.61 and now it raised over 1.00 in a day

[KelicaJL]

hmm... when i came into work this morning (with the V8 hemi and almost empty... ) it was 3.49... it supposed to be up to abootu $4 a gal. by this afternoon (when i get out of work and need gas... of course)

[KelicaJL]

oo... and some gas stations have no gas... yay

[flakko]

i think what my mom said was true.

just like when it hit 2 dollars, once it goes 3 it wont go lower than 3.

[jrz126]

Here's what we do...we go kick those enviromentalists in the head, then bust into Alaska and start drilling. then once OPEC has alittle competition, they'll drop their prices.

[AznRevlAzn]

yeah my Gulf/Sunoco is out of gas. Also there were alot of poeple walking today