ALBANY, N.Y. -- A New York State legislator is pushing his colleagues to approve a bill that would strengthen the ability to enforce a state law banning fuel suppliers’ practice of zone pricing, or setting the price of fuel based on the geographic location of the retailer, without regard to cost.
New York passed a law in 2008 that bans zone pricing; however, a 2011 study by State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman determined that the practice among fuel suppliers had continued, and enforcing the law was difficult because its wording was too vague.
In particular, the study found that while the statute prohibits wholesalers from charging different prices within the “relevant geographic market,” that phrase was not well-defined. And although the law prohibits “arbitrary” price differences, wholesalers have argued that these differences are not arbitrary but based on factors such as costs of operation, local competition and marketing conditions.
The result is that the law has been largely unenforced. Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr. (I) has introduced legislation since then that aims to better define those terms and make the law easier to enforce, but it continues to struggle to win approval in the full legislature. Thiele said his bill is supported by gasoline retailers, but not major oil companies.
In support of the bill, Thiele pointed to his latest gasoline price survey for the South Fork region of the state, which he believes has suffered the most from zone pricing. (Thiele has tracked gas prices in the South Fork since 2011.)
According to a report in The Shelter Island Reporter, Thiele published a list of recent gas prices at local gas stations from Eastport to Montauk, ranging from $2.79 to $3.59 per gallon, along with prices dating from May 2011 to April 2015 showing that South Fork average prices often were greater than in the rest of the state.
The survey found that gas prices were at least 2 cents per gallon (CPG) lower on the rest of Long Island and an average of 8 CPG lower around the rest of the state than in the South Fork.
Thiele’s survey showed an average gas price of $2.79 per gallon in East Hampton and Southampton (not including Amagansett and Montauk). Meanwhile, on the North Fork, the average was around $2.65 per gallon, while Long Island drivers were paying an average of $2.77 per gallon.
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