Governor urges residents to stay home for holiday
Tina Talerico of Mount Clare said she was overcharged $13 for her more than $100 gasoline purchase in Good Hope yesterday. To make matters worse, the station didn't give her a receipt.
She said she complained to the state Attorney General's Office on Thursday.
There have been thousands of complaints to the state government about high gas prices the past few days, Gov. Joe Manchin III told reporters Thursday during a press conference on fuel prices at the main terminal of the Clarksburg/Harrison-Marion Regional Airport.
The attorney general's office is looking into those complaints, he said. Because of the high prices, "A lot of people think we're in an emergency or crisis. We're not," Manchin said.
Prices at the pump rose 50 cents Wednesday, and another spike was seen Thursday. Gas stations in Sabraton posted $3.29 per gallon for regular gasoline Thursday evening.
"This overnight spike is not reflecting an embargo ... it is an act of nature," Manchin said.
The most urgent concern is that West Virginia gets enough gasoline, Manchin's spokeswoman Lara Ramsburg said from Charleston before Manchin's press conference.
Before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast early this week, the concern was pricing.
At any given time, there is four days worth of gasoline in the state, Ramsburg explained.
"We wanted to assure prices didn't increase in anticipation of the hurricane. Thankfully the vast majority of our distributors and stations ... really kept prices in check," she said.
Now that the hurricane hit and disrupted the gasoline refineries and distribution of gasoline from the Gulf Coast, the concern is supply, Ramsburg said.
Manchin said he expects relief from high gasoline prices next week. "When Tuesday comes you will see a lot of restoration of normality," he said.
When asked if the government could cap gasoline prices, Manchin said doing so could mean West Virginia doesn't get as much gasoline, and would further threaten the state's supply, Manchin said.
Goodwin said he knows of only one state — Hawaii — that has a cap on gasoline prices.
"We don't have the same statutory authorization," Goodwin said.
West Virginia law does have an option for declaring a state of emergency, said Carte Goodwin, special counsel to the governor.
"If that happens, West Virginia law makes certain pricing practices illegal and subject to certain penalties. It bans gouging," he said.
"We're monitoring it, keeping a close eye on it. So far, gouging has not happened," he said. "Clearly, the overwhelming majority of West Virginia retailers are not engaged in that kind of practice."
Unless an emergency or crisis is called, there is no law that says retailers, even retailers of gasoline, cannot raise prices.
Manchin urged gas station owners to practice good business. "Common sense is this. If you bought it at one price, sell it 'til it's gone," he said.
Delegate Cindy Frich, R-Monongalia, has another idea for easing the strain of high gas prices.
In a letter written to Manchin on Thursday, she said she wants the governor to next year repeal the automatic increase in the wholesale tax on gasoline.
"With the current West Virginia excise tax on gasoline and diesel at 20.5 cents and wholesale gas tax at 6.5 cents, West Virginians already pay more at the gas pump in taxes than in most surrounding states. We will likely pay the highest taxes in the area next year after the recalculation of the wholesale gas tax."
That tax could almost double next year, to 11.75 cents per gallon, she said.
Later Thursday during the press conference, Manchin insisted that the gas tax is not the problem.
In 1993, gasoline was $1 per gallon, he said. Gasoline now costs more than $3, but the gas tax has risen only 2 cents per gallon in that span of time, he said.
"I don't want people to be misled (and say) 'Oh well, just take the gas tax off,'" he said. "We have to start to look at different ways" for a permanent solution, he said.
For example, he said he would like to develop technology to liquefy West Virginia's coal, making our own gas and fuel products, he said. He also called for a national energy policy.
In the meantime, he urged West Virginians who planned trips for the Labor Day weekend to "rethink" their plans.
He recommended they "take this time to stay with your family, to stay at home," he said.
Manchin said that is what he and his family will be doing this weekend.
"We will get past this.... As horrible as this disaster is, life does go on," he said referring to the devastation in Gulf Coast communities.