ANCHORAGE – Yesterday, Senator Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, and Senator Scott Kawasaki, D-Fairbanks, wrote to Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor urging the Department of Law to investigate Alaska’s excessively high fuel prices and determine if Alaskans are experiencing price gouging. According to AAA, Alaska consumer prices for motor fuel have risen 42.4 cents on average in the last week. The current average price per gallon of gasoline is $5.429 in Alaska.

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 subsequently determined Alaska’s high fuel prices were caused by high margins charged by Alaska refineries. The senators’ current request seeks similar approaches to determine why Alaska prices are rising while Lower-48 U.S. prices have stabilized.

“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.”

Alaska already has one of the highest costs of living in the country, especially with skyrocketing inflation. The letter spoke to the necessity of gaining information to better understand the process of fuel pricing to determine whether there are any inappropriate refinery margins or if a monopoly exists within the state of Alaska that is controlling prices and harming consumers.

“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.”

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