Some fuel stations that have been issued subpoenas are working to prove that they were not engaged in price gouging.
Arkansas’ Attorney General Dustin McDaniel began issuing subpoenas this week against 52 gas stations over spikes in fuel prices around the state after more than 1,450 people phoned his office with complaints and more than 2,400 people e-mailed or sent text messages about suddenly high gas prices. Some retailers bumped gasoline prices to $4.50 per gallon or more as Ike took aim on the Gulf Coast and $4.64 a gallon at a station in Osceola.
Marsha Cuca, manager of Day & Nite in England, part of a Texarkana, Texas, based gas station chain that has been issued a subpoena, said that many people over reacted and reported nearly any price increase as a gouge. She said people need to get their facts straight and understand that her station did not raise the price of fuel until it was sold fuel at $4 a gallon.
The station charged $4.35 a gallon for unleaded fuel after it ran out of its fuel that cost $3.59 a gallon. Cuca added that they were within the law for the increase after taking into account the various fees they are charged. The convenience store chain receives fuel from Lion Oil in El Dorado.
Prices were set by each station for the chain and the company will be glad to have it all come out so the public is aware, said Pat McDowell, operations manager for the Day & Nite corporate office. Many stations are selling at a loss because they do not want to be seen as charging too much and all information has been sent to the Attorney General’s office.
Friday, Gov. Mike Beebe declared a state of emergency in response to gas-supply disruptions from the hurricane that struck the Texas coast. State law prohibits businesses from raising their costs by more than 10 percent in an emergency.
Ron Leone, executive director of the Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, said that whatever retailers paid Wednesday for the wholesale price of gasoline is what will be delivered to their stores at a later date.
Therefore, under normal conditions, retailers would combine what the wholesale price of gasoline they paid for at an earlier date with other costs, such as 50 cents' worth of Missouri state and federal taxes, freight costs and credit card fees.
"But we're not in a normal situation," Leone said. "We have refineries which are offline at the moment, which are forcing retailers to raise their prices. But I expect within a week or two we'll begin a return to normal."
Leone said the future price of wholesale fuel is going down because the current price of crude has continuously dropped, though its cost of about $96 a barrel had increased from about $91 Tuesday. However, the current price of retail fuel is increasing because of fuel supply and distribution issues surrounding Hurricane Ike, which made landfall Sunday in Texas.
The cost for regular gasoline in west and central Missouri has remained about the same or increased slightly since Sept. 11, compared to east Missouri where gasoline has increased more drastically.
But Leone explained that's because the two areas operate on separate pipelines.
East Missouri receives most of its gas from a pipeline based in the Gulf of Mexico whereas west and central Missouri receive gas from a pipeline from Western states such as Oklahoma and Nebraska.
Leone said convenience stores face a dilemma.
"Do they increase the retail price of gasoline to the point where it generates enough income so they could survive if they were to run out of gas for a day or two?" he said.
"Or do they keep prices about the same and then if they run out of fuel, they cannot purchase any additional gasoline to offer for sale to the public?"
Author: Jo Amey
