HARTFORD, Conn. -- Governor M. Jodi Rell said Thursday that Connecticut's continuing investigation into complaints from consumers about a sudden increase in gasoline prices has broadened to include 10 wholesalers serving gas stations around Connecticut. Rell on Tuesday directed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) to subpoena records from Cumberland Farms Inc. after the governor's office and the DCP received numerous, specific complaints about a sudden increase in gasoline prices at the company's stores.
On Wednesday, Governor Rell directed the DCP to subpoena records [image-nocss] from several gasoline companies after the governor's office and the DCP received numerous, specific complaints about a sudden increase in gasoline prices during and following Hurricane Ike. Those subpoenas sought information not only at the retail level but at the wholesale level.
The subpoenas were issued after more than 500 consumer complaints to a hot line Rell established for residents to report possible price gouging. Since then, the governor's office and DCP have received more than 100 additional complaints.
On Thursday, DCP subpoenaed 10 more wholesalers—seven of them based in Connecticut—seeking further information about their pricing during the run-up to the storm and the ensuing days. The wholesalers subpoenaed were ExxonMobil, Houston; Alliance Energy, Branford, Conn.; Drake Petroleum, Thompson, Conn.; Aldin Associates, East Hartford, Conn.; Hendel Petroleum, Waterford, Conn.; General Equities, Kensington, Conn.; Chestnut Petroleum, New Paltz, N.Y.; Sunoco, Philadelphia; Patterson Oil, Torrington, Conn.; and Standard Petroleum, Bridgeport, Conn.
"The local retailers—the men and women who own and operate the gas stations we all use—are saying they are squeezed between staggering wholesale prices and fuming customers," Rell said. "While we will continue to investigate possible wrongdoing at either the retail or the wholesale level, I understand the plight of local gas station owners—consumers face the same grim choices when pinched by high retail prices and the need to keep their cars and trucks on the road."
Rell has also announced that her administration is crafting specific language to define "price gouging" and make it easier to investigate and prosecute suspected profiteers. She plans to contact a wide range of experts, including retail-level dealers, to set a firm standard for defining "price gouging," especially in volatile markets such as retail gasoline. Legislation to revise the standards would be offered when the General Assembly meets next year.
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