Complaints of rising gas prices as Ike hits

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush Saturday said officials will ensure gasoline stations don't gouge customers after Hurricane Ike, but with some prices near $5 a gallon, some consumers were not so sure.

Dozens of iReport.com users complained of rising gasoline prices Friday and Saturday. Sean Kennedy, of Knoxville, Tennessee, took a photo of a Knoxville station displaying a $4.99 per gallon price for regular gasoline on Saturday.

The previous day, he said, he had bought regular gas at the station for $3.59 a gallon.

"I know the hurricane is causing a spike, but ... [nearly] $1.50 in 24 hours?" Kennedy said.

Other stations in the area, he said, were offering prices at or near $4.99 on Saturday. iReport.com: Send photos of gas prices

"I was just appalled to see it go up that much in 24 hours," he said.

In Cumming, Georgia, iReporter Jeffrey Brock took a picture of a gas station sign with a $5.20-per-gallon price on Friday, the day before Ike slammed the Texas Gulf Coast.

"Most other stations in the area are not charging this much," he wrote to iReport.com.

Gas prices rose across the country amid fears the storm would disrupt fuel supplies. The region hit by Ike is home to about 25 percent of U.S. oil refining capacity, a large percentage of which shut down ahead of the storm. Watch as iReporters eye gas prices »

According to a nationwide survey released early Saturday morning by the American Automobile Association, the average price of regular unleaded gasoline edged up 5.8 cents to $3.73 a gallon, from $3.675 a day earlier.

The nearly 6-cent increase was the biggest one-day spike this year and the largest since shortly after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, according to AAA. The price of gas rose by 14 cents and 16 cents on consecutive days in Katrina's aftermath.

In a brief televised statement, Bush said Environmental Protection Agency waivers on certain reformulated gasolines were suspended Friday night to make it easier for imports to get to U.S. markets.

"In the meantime, the Department of Energy, the Federal Trade Commission and, I know, the state authorities will be monitoring the gasoline prices to make sure consumers are not being gouged," the president added.

He said that additional generators were being moved into areas without electricity and that other concerns such as water and ice were being addressed.

Bush said he had asked Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to travel to Texas to review the federal response to Ike. Chertoff was to arrive in Texas on Saturday evening. Watch as Bush says his administration is moving to act quickly »

The national price increase was driven by sharp spikes in the Southeast, primarily the Carolinas, Tennessee and Kentucky, states that lie at the end of several Gulf pipelines. Generally, increases in other regions were fairly slight. Watch as motorists as far as Georgia are affected »

In Florida, the state attorney general's office said prices were as high as $5.50 in Tallahassee, according to The Associated Press.

The governors of Georgia, Louisiana and Florida said complaints of gouging would be investigated.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said Friday that $5 a gallon "can only be described as unconscionable," according to the AP.

"Raising rates to exorbitant levels like this only causes unnecessary panic and fear," Crist said, according to the AP. "This type of behavior will not be tolerated."

In Harriman, Tennessee, about 40 miles east of Knoxville, iReporter Stacy Haynes said one gas station was selling regular gas at $5.09 per gallon Saturday evening, and another was selling it at $4.99 a gallon.

A day earlier, she said, prices in town were about $3.60 a gallon.

"These people are charging too much. It's ridiculous," Haynes said.

In Texas, the average price rose 5.4 cents to $3.60 a gallon, AAA said in its report early Saturday. iReporters describe the scramble at the pump

In the two coastal areas affected most directly by the storm, Galveston and Houston, average prices rose 3.6 cents and 4.8 cents to $3.525 and $3.544, respectively.

Analysts have expressed fears that gas prices could continue to rise in the days after Ike's approach.

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