Dems Urge Feds To Investigate Surging Gas Prices

Skyrocketing gas prices may be getting an extra boost from anticompetitive conduct according to some Democratic legislators that are urging the Federal Trade Commission to investigate possible anticompetitive conduct by gasoline refineries.

Last week, Democratic senators, including Senators Claire McCaskill, Charles Schumer, Patty Murray and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, asked the FTC to investigate whether gasoline refiners have restrained supply of gasoline in order to increase prices.  In a letter to Jon Leibowitz, the Chairman of the FTC, they questioned whether U.S. inventories may have been kept artificially low in order to maintain high gas prices, citing evidence that “refineries are using only 81.7 percent of their capacity, a decline of 7 percent from the same time last year.” 

D.C. and Maryland attorneys general also recently announced investigations.

D.C.’s Attorney General is investigating Capitol Petroleum Group (“CPG”), D.C.’s largest owner of gas stations, for potential anticompetitive practices.  CPG owns/operates a large number of gasoline stations in D.C.  The investigation will center on whether CPG’s gas station holdings represent an illegal monopoly under D.C.’s antitrust law, and might also look into CPG’s primary owner’s dual role as a gas station owner and gas wholesaler through another company called DAG Petroleum.  Four years ago, the D.C. Council repealed a law prohibiting wholesalers from owning individual service stations based on competition concerns.  It might be revisiting that decision.  CPG’s owner in a statement argued that the gas stations he owns are managed by individual franchisees which independently set the price of gas at the pump.

Maryland’s Attorney General is investigating “sudden and dramatic” increases in gas prices at a number of Maryland stations supplied by Empire Petroleum Holdings.  Empire, a distributor, apparently told its retailers that prices had to be raised about 25 cents a gallon because of the Mississippi River flooding.

Both target companies are contesting allegations of anticompetitive conduct.