Two Democratic State Senators wrote a letter to Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor asking the Department of Law to investigate Alaska’s high price spike at the gasoline pump and to determine if Alaskans are experiencing price gouging. The letter penned by Anchorage Sen. Bill Wielechowski, and Fairbanks Sen. Scott Kowasaki urges Taylor to find out why pump prices went up so much in the past week.
AAA reported on Thursday that Alaska saw the largest increase in gasoline price since the week prior compared to the other 49 U.S. states with an increase of 42.2 cents on average thus far with the price seemingly set to increase in price even more. As of Friday, the average price for regular at the pump in the Kenai/Soldotna area was $5.54 for regular, up from $5.49 the prior day.
“Alaskans are getting gouged, and we need to find out why. Gasoline prices have gone up by over $1 in just the last week in Anchorage for no perceivable reason. It makes absolutely no sense – the oil comes from Alaska and is refined in Alaska,” said Sen. Wielechowski. “It’s our duty and the Administration’s duty to Alaskans to determine why this is the case, find solutions, and collaborate to reduce costs. Too much of Alaskans’ money is going to fuel instead of food on the table.”
In 2008 and 2009, the Attorney General, House Judiciary Committee and the nonpartisan Legislative Research Services Agency investigated excessively high fuel prices Alaska was then experiencing. They all determined that Alaska’s high fuel prices were caused by high margins charged by Alaska refineries. The senators’ current request seeks similar approaches to determine why the pump prices are rising while Lower-48 U.S. prices have stabilized.
“Alaskans have long seen high gasoline and heating fuel prices even with an oil pipeline in our backyard,” said Sen. Kawasaki. “We need answers, and we need them now to help lower the financial burden too many Alaskans are facing this upcoming winter. Knowledge is power and both branches of government need that information to make informed decisions on behalf of all Alaskans.”
With inflation increasing the costs of everyday normal goods in Alaska, in addition to the price of gasoline on the increase since going down in June, the Senators spoke to the need for getting information to better understand the process of fuel pricing to see whether there are any inappropriate refinery margins or if a monopoly exists in the state of Alaska that is controlling prices and harming consumers.
Click here for a copy of the letter.