here we go
"John Harper, an east Cobb County resident, pulled up to a gas station in Stockbridge Wednesday evening when he saw an enticing empty parking lot. He promptly turned around once he the manager told him the gas prices _ $5.87 for a gallon of unleaded fuel."
Perdue signs order allowing sanctions against gas gougers
The Associated Press - ATLANTA
With some retailers advertising gasoline prices as high as $6 per gallon, Gov. Sonny Perdue signed an executive order Wednesday authorizing state sanctions against gas stations that gouge consumers.
"I do not believe there is an energy emergency in this state but we will not tolerate our citizens perceiving the fact there is by exorbitant price-gouging prices," he said.
Perdue's order allows the Gov.'s Office of Consumer Affairs to seek civil sanctions against retailers who can't justify their prices based on the price they paid at the terminal for the product, adjusted for their normal markup.
"Frankly, when you prey upon the fears, the paranoia of citizens, it is akin to looting in a different sort of way," Perdue said.
As he spoke, long queues formed in Georgia's suburbs and cities, rural towns and backwaters, as drivers scrambled to fill their tanks with gas priced well over $3 a gallon at some stations.
Police in Sandersville had to direct traffic during a mid-morning rush on the pumps after two small stations ran out of gas, Police Chief John Harden said. In Washington, long lines for gas stretched into the town's main street, disrupting traffic.
"People are beginning to panic over the gasoline already," said Wilkes County Commissioner Donna Hardy. "People don't know what to expect at this point."
John Harper, an east Cobb County resident, pulled up to a gas station in Stockbridge Wednesday evening when he saw an enticing empty parking lot. He promptly turned around once he the manager told him the gas prices _ $5.87 for a gallon of unleaded fuel.
"It's highway robbery," Harper said.
He was one of a half-dozen people who left after pulling up to the station. Soon after, the gas station manager decided to lower the gas prices by $2 a gallon.
The governor gave no specific examples of price gouging but said prices at some stations rose from $3 per gallon to $5 and $6 per gallon by Wednesday afternoon.
"We should not even have to be doing this," he said. "I'm frankly embarrassed for our state and some of our businesses that we have to do this."
He acknowledged consumers may not always know if they are being gouged as gas prices change. "You just have to report this and our Office of Consumer Affairs will investigate," he said.
Hours before announcing his executive order, Perdue called on Georgians to remain calm over rising gas prices and fears of short supplies, saying, "This is a temporary problem due to Hurricane Katrina and will be resolved soon."
He asked the state's drivers to alter any discretionary driving plans they might have for the Labor Day weekend and stay home with their families instead.
"There's no reason to panic. There's plenty of gas on the way, and the only reason we would have problems locally is if we rush out to hoard and try to accumulate gasoline that we won't need for a long time," he said during a news conference with Red Cross officials.
Perdue said gas distributors assured him they were working around the clock to restore service to two major gas pipelines that serve the state but he added that another major source of supply through the Georgia ports hasn't been hampered.
"Fresh fuel is continuing to reach our ports and Atlanta and other markets throughout Georgia," he said.
