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"I know first-hand what it is like to pull into the gas station and see a price increase of 35 cents or 40 cents over a matter of just 12 hours," fumed Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell. "It is ludicrous, and it is all the more so when the prices at gas stations on opposite corners differ by 20 cents a gallon."
Rell added, "These prices are hardest on our low- and middle-income residents, but they are far from alone. I also worry for the small businesses that rely on delivery vehicles or the transportation network and face significantly higher costs. These questions are on the mind of everyone and that includes your governor."
U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd also chimed in on the situation last week, saying in a statement, "The only thing that is rising as fast as gas pump prices is the anger consumers feel every time they drive up to the pump. They're right to be fuming. People in Connecticut and across America have been subjected to a virtual shakedown at the pump."
Dodd also called for decisive action from President George W. Bush to address the problem.
"The Bush administration needs to do something more than offer empty rhetoric," Dodd said. "They need to provide concrete assurances that price gouging by oil companies isn't going to be tolerated. And while the President should be commended for finally taking some steps recently, such as drawing down oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, more needs to be done. It isn't enough for the President to decry the notion of price gouging; he and his administration need to investigate and comprehensively monitor pricing and specifically spell out what they intend to do to protect consumers in Connecticut and across the nation."
Individual drivers were not the only casualties as gas prices shot past the $3 mark, small businesses including gasoline retailers have also felt the crunch.
Since the hurricane hit, there have been reports of some gas stations across the country closing because of a lack of supply, but Swedish Motor Works on Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield stopped selling gas last Thursday despite having plenty of gasoline in stock.
"We've stopped selling gas because of the high price we have to pay," explained Larry Garcia, manager of Swedish Motor Works. "We've spoken to the company, but right now we're closed for an extended period. We have stopped selling gas indefinitely."
For Swedish Motor Works owner C. Bert Andren, the issue goes far beyond the laws of supply and demand.
"As a lifelong Fairfield resident, for me this has come down to a moral issue," he said. "As a moral businessman, how can I expect my customers to pay these kind of prices."
Andren, whose service station is supplied by Gulf, said that if his pumps were open, the price for gas would be at least $3.50 a gallon.
"And that is at no profit," noted Andren. "That only covers my costs and the cost of my help. They don't even care. Do you know Gulf never even called me back. They couldn't care less. They can't be gouging the little guy like this. I want my situation to be viewed in a positive way. I'm trying to take a moral stance even though this has given me a tremendous cash flow problem. But if we start responding across the country, the gouging will stop."
There have been other responses to the spike in gas prices as many local consumers are refusing to suffer in silence as prices skyrocket. An Internet campaign in the greater Bridgeport area has called for drivers to boycott Exxon and Mobil, arguing that the two oil companies will be forced to react to the loss of sales by cutting gas prices.
Another response to the high prices has come from AAA Connecticut Motor Club, which is now offering rebates for gasoline purchases.
According to AAA spokesman Fran Mayko, motor club members who purchase gas with their AAA Visa credit card will receive a 5 percent rebate that will appear on their next billing statement. Mayko said an individual who spends $50 buying gas, will receive approximately $2.50 a week or $10 a month in rebates.
At the state level, Rell is eyeing the possibility of suspending the state gasoline tax indefinitely to provide consumers with some price relief. Rell is one of many governors across the country who are attempting various solutions to combat the price spikes. Governors in Michigan, New York, Oregon and California have all discussed suspending their state gasoline taxes. And in Hawaii, as of Sept. 1, wholesale gas prices have been capped at $2.1578 cents per gallon, which should keep the price at the pump at a maximum of $2.86 per gallon.
In the meantime, Connecticut officials have vowed decisive action against alleged price gougers. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said his office is tackling the problem.
"We are actively monitoring and collecting information to determine whether violations of our consumer protection laws have occurred, particularly the state's price gouging laws," Blumenthal said. "We are looking into whether unconscionable prices prohibited by our laws have been charged. Aggressive intervention is vital at the federal level - to tax the unconscionable profit of big oil and prevent profiteering at consumers' expense, and to stop monopolistic conspiracies and anticompetitive action by these companies."
Dodd added, "If oil companies are using the terrible tragedy of Hurricane Katrina to line their pockets, while millions of Americans are scrambling to pay for the price of a gallon of gas, it goes without saying that they should be dealt with harshly and swiftly."
With the reopening of several Gulf area refineries this week, as well as the federal government's decision to tap into its strategic oil reserves, Fairfield County residents are anxiously awaiting to see if prices drop in the same rapid 12-hour fashion in which they went up.
