Sen. Chuck Schumer on Sunday urged the federal government to begin a “gouge watch” to ensure “big oil” isn’t taking advantage of motorists at the pump in the aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, an issue first raised by a columnist for the New York Post.
“Gas prices should come back down to earth just as fast as they went up, but right now, my worry is they will not fall as fast as they should,” the New York Democrat said, referring to “sticky” high prices. “That is why I am asking the FTC to launch a ‘gouge watch’ with oil producers, transporters and refiners alike.”
“The only thing that makes a devastating natural disaster worse is the idea that that big oil could be making a buck off of the mess and hosing consumers, even after the storm has passed us by and the recovery has begun,” he continued.
He wrote to the acting chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission Maureen Ohlhausen to ask her agency to keep a close eye on prices to keep oil companies honest.
”I hope you will inform the crude oil industry that the FTC is paying close attention to pricing and competitive practices within the oil and natural gas market, especially as prices may hover higher in the future than they should upon returning to normal conditions,” he said in the letter.
The Post’s business columnist John Crudele wrote on Sept. 7 that Harvey caused some gasoline refineries in Texas to shut down. But “now that Harvey is gone — and the upcoming Hurricane Irma, as threatening as it is, isn’t likely to reduce gasoline production — it would be fair for prices to come down overnight. But don’t count on it,” Crudele wrote.
Schumer said Harvey and Irma have passed, the federal government has released 5.3 million barrels of oil from the US reserves and suppliers are back online so prices should be falling.
But they’re not.
Citing the American Automobile Association, Schumer said the average price of a gallon of gas in New York City and Long Island is up 13 percent from before the storms in Texas and Florida.
“By the law of economics, what goes up should come down,” Schumer said. “When the supply was cut off from 13 refineries, the price should have gone up. But now that the refineries are on duty, the price should go down.”
He said the FTC can’t set the price of gas, but the it can make sure the consumer is being treated fairly.
”If they find out it isn’t, then Congress can act,” Schumer said.