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Feb. 3, 2006 – Senator Liston A. Davis said that a survey of gas retailers on St. Thomas has disclosed such a large disparity in gas prices, any reasonable observer would be convinced that there is a degree of price gouging taking place in the retail gas industry.
"Although our investigation has revealed that the wholesale price charged by Texaco to retailers is uniform, the differences in the markups by independent retailers are notable. For example, at one Texaco gas station the price for a gallon of gas hovers around $3.00. At another motorists have to pay around $3.09 per gallon for the same octane level, and at still another Texaco gas station, consumers are hit with a charge of $3.13 per gallon and this is for a similar octane level," said Senator Davis.
According to Senator Davis, for most people it is incomprehensible that the gas sold by Texaco to its retailers originates from Hovensa right here in the Virgin Islands and yet is more expensive than the same octane gas sold in Hawaii.
"The gasoline sold in Hawaii is shipped some 6000 miles from California and yet despite this additional cost of transportation, their price has not broken $3 per gallon," said Senator Davis.
Despite the silence of those who should be watchdogs for the consumers of the territory, said Senator Davis, he could not in good faith standby and witness what is happening with our gas prices. He is consequently calling on the Chairman of the Committee on Government Operations and Consumer Protection to conduct a thorough investigation into the apparent price gouging of our motorists by some of our gas retailers and is hoping that his clarion call would not go unheeded. In the meantime, Senator Davis said he is calling on the motoring public to boycott Texaco gas retailers who are obviously taking advantage of the people of the Virgin Islands.
