As gasoline prices fell across the country late last year, Western New York's gasoline prices remained inexplicably high, and still remain too high. But a Higgins-prompted [image-nocss] investigation by the FTC has yet to produce reasons or solutions for the problem and was not made open to the public. Schumer and Higgins said today that in addition to calling on the next FTC chair for a quicker, public and more comprehensive investigation, they want to ensure the study contains detailed findings, including identifying who was responsible for the high prices and suggesting a solution to the problem.
"While the rest of the country had relief at the pump, Western New Yorkers were inexplicably saddled with high gas prices. Western New York families were being unfairly punished at the pump at a time when cash is slim and economic hardships are sizeable," Schumer said.
In late October of 2008, gasoline prices across the country and across New York State began to dramatically drop, but Western New York's gasoline prices remained high, according to Schumer and Higgins. On October 21, 2008, the average retail price of gasoline in the Buffalo area- $3.40 per gallon-was 8 cents more than the nearby community of Rochester, and 36 cents and 38 cents more than the upstate communities of Syracuse and Albany, respectively. At that time, Rochester had experienced a nearly 14% drop in gas prices, and Albany's gasoline prices had dropped 19%, but Buffalo's had only dropped 12.7%.
The gasoline price disparity persisted through the end of December. The average retail price of gasoline in the Buffalo area on Dec. 21, 2008, was $2.04 gallon. That was 6 cents more than Rochester, and 13 cents and 9 cents more than the upstate communities of Syracuse and Albany, respectively. The national average price of gasoline at that time was $1.66.
While the price of gasoline in Buffalo is now more in line with the national and statewide average, it still remains high, and the reason for the price disparity has not been identified, Schumer and Higgins said.
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