Two bucks a gallon for gas?
Across the country,
regulators are asking whyApril 25, 1996
Web posted at: 11:59 p.m. EDTWASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two Democratic senators from Connecticut Thursday urged Attorney General Janet Reno to investigate the large increases in gas prices in Connecticut and other parts of the country in the past year.
"If you think Mrs. Kennedy's jewelry is expensive, you should see the price of gasoline in Connecticut. A trip to the pump is like a trip to go bidding at Sotheby's."
-- Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Connecticut
Gasoline prices have leapt spectacularly in the past month. The increases have been blamed on the cold winter forcing refiners to produce more heating oil and less gasoline. It has also been blamed on faltering talks between the United Nations and Iraq, which so far have failed to produce a deal for releasing more oil to the world market.
Oil companies have blamed higher gasoline prices on a jump in crude oil prices, a recent spate of refinery shutdowns in California, and a stricter ultra-clean fuel requirement. (269K AIFF sound or 269K WAV sound)
So, according to the American Automobile Association, the average price of a gallon of self-service regular gasoline in Connecticut has gone up 9 cents in just one month to $1.43. In some parts of Southern California, the price for premium gasoline has skyrocketed to $2.23 per gallon, a reasonable price by European standards but almost unheard of in the United States.
'Like bidding at Sotheby's'
Sens. Joseph Lieberman and Chris Dodd, both Connecticut Democrats, held a Capitol Hill press conference Thursday on the gasoline price issue. The two senators sent a letter to the U.S. Justice Department on April 22 asking that they work with the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency to determine why Connecticut's gasoline prices have risen to levels just shy of the records set during the Gulf War in 1990.
Lieberman told a group of reporters, "If you think Mrs. Kennedy's jewelry is expensive, you should see the price of gasoline in Connecticut. A trip to the pump is like a trip to go bidding at Sotheby's."
Lieberman said he and Dodd "fear that the rate of increase is unjustified." Dodd added that "there's no secret that the (oil) industry has been lobbying to lift the embargo on Iraq so that they can get more supplies," suggesting that perhaps rising gasoline prices may be related to the industry's lobbying efforts.
Dodd and Lieberman said most major oil companies have reported higher-than-expected earnings during the first quarter of 1996. For example, Amoco reported a 39 percent increase in earnings and Mobil Corp. has seen a 16 percent increase.
California also investigates gas prices
The California Air Resources Board also began an investigation Thursday into the sudden price hike. Because of a public outcry over prices that have risen drastically in that state -- some stations have jacked their prices up 30 cents a gallon over the last few weeks -- the group moved ahead with a scheduled public hearing in Sacramento to hear oil companies' explanations. (93K AIFF sound or 93K WAV sound)
More than 200 people attended the meeting, only to be told that the price was "dictated by supply and demand and the marketplace" by Ronald Kiracofe, ARCO's senior vice president for manufacturing, engineering and technology.
In California, where the car is king, a rise in the use of public transportation has already been noted.
And in Paramount, California, hundreds of motorists waited in line for hours for a chance to buy gasoline at 64 cents a gallon. Charlie's ARCO station was selling the low-cost gas as part of a promotion with KFI radio. Charlie's ARCO "is not doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. We sought out an ARCO franchise that was willing to charge the low price while allowing KFI to pick up the difference," said KFI spokesman Bill Lewis. The ARCO station would have normally charged $1.47 Thursday and $1.55 Friday.
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