Gasoline Price Gouging

In our posting on Tuesday we cautioned our readers
about the charity scam quite prevalent in the
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. However, probably
everytime you are filling up the tank of your car, you
are becoming a victim of gas gouging. Agencies have
reported that there was no reason in the sharp rise in
gasoline price by about 50 cents or more per gallon in
several places around USA. This happened even in
places where Katrina did not affect any parameter in
the local supply chain.

President Bush said, "I think there ought to be zero tolerance of people
breaking the law during an emergency such as this whether it be looting,
or price gouging at the gasoline pump, or taking advantage of charitable
giving or insurance fraud and I've made that clear to our Attorney
General. The citizens ought to be working together."

With key Gulf Coast refineries and pipelines out of service, the Energy
Department tried to keep fuel production steady by tapping an emergency
government stockpile of oil and to temporarily ease pollution standards on
gasoline and diesel fuel. But the president raised the possibility that the
hurricane will lead to even higher gasoline prices and shortages in some
areas. Besides agreeing to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum
Reserve, Bush said the administration has waved some Environmental
Protection Agency regulations on blended fuel, which will mean there will
be more fuel available, not only domestically, but also from imports. After
all these weeks we may finally enjoy some relief -- even if that might be a
short one.

Tip: Find out which gas station in your town has the best fuel prices by
searching the handy state-by-state list at GasBuddy.com .