On Thursday, Sept. 11, the Houston Chronicle reported that due to predictions of oil refinery shutdowns, a fear of shortages was causing gas prices to rise quickly. The national TV news reported the trend and by Friday morning, my husband and I along with countless others had decided to fuel up first thing the very next day.
My husband stopped at the Sunoco station on the way to work and filled up, paying the high price of $3.93 per gallon. Two days before, the price had been $3.58 per gallon. We thought nothing of it and assumed this to be a legitimate increase caused by gas shortages from the refineries shutting down.
I was a little later getting out the door that morning and didn't fill up until late afternoon. The Sunoco at $3.93 was too busy, so I decided to drive around to see if I could find a cheaper price. To my surprise, the Texaco down the street was only $3.84 per gallon. "What gives?" I thought. Usually, Texaco gas is the highest priced gas in town. As I drove around on some errands, I discovered a huge discrepancy between gas prices, all ranging between about $3.60 and $4.10 per gallon, about a 50 cent spread. Normally, gas prices differ between stations and locations by about 20 cents.
Oh my gosh, they're gouging!
Over the weekend, as Hurricane Ike devastated the Texas and Louisiana coasts, gasoline suppliers and station owners systematically raised their prices. The move was quite gutsy, for what they had not counted on was the internet. Someone was watching them. The Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist, looked into the situation and found some stations to be charging as high as $5 per gallon. "Our state currently has an adequate fuel supply," he declared in a press release, "Report suspected cases of price gouging."
You can do this by going to this website:
www.800helpfla.com/price_gouging.html
Businesses are opportunists. It's not a bad thing. If they weren't, they wouldn't be in business. However, it is illegal in the State of Florida to take advantage of a natural disaster, especially a hurricane, to artificially raise prices in order to make a profit. Florida Statute 501.160 prohibits price increases on everything from hotel rooms, storage rentals, batteries, generators, bottled water, ice, food, tarps, plywood for boarding windows, lumber for repairs, and of course, gas – basically anything you might need as a result of an emergency. Those gas station owners better have proof that their suppliers raised their prices. And the suppliers better have the same. Otherwise, they face stiff fines.
Through the wonder of the internet, it is now possible to find out what gas prices are supposed to cost. This is one of my favorite websites, www.aaasouth.com/home.asp. Type your zip code in the box at left under "maps and directions." After a few moments, a map pops up with gas prices.
On Sept. 10, the Orlando Sunoco station at 4100 S Orange Blossom Trail listed their price for regular gas at $3.58 per gallon. (map and data courtesy aaa.com)
On Sept. 14, 4 days later the Orlando Sunoco station at 3025 E Colonial Drive, only 6.4 miles away, reported their prices at $4.00 per gallon. (map and data courtesy aaa.com)
