In response to increases in gas prices at the end of last week, Gov. Mike Easley asked Attorney General Roy Cooper to enforce laws against gasoline price gouging.
Easley declared a state of "abnormal market disruption" for gasoline Friday as Hurricane Ike battered Texas oil refineries. Cooper told WRAL Saturday that more than 1,000 complaints about price gouging had been lodged, and his office would begin sending out subpoenas to gas stations in violation of state law.
Senior Scott Eren said he is skeptical about enforcement of anti-gouging laws.
"I was a little taken aback by Attorney General Roy Cooper's statement that he would recognize price-gouging when he saw it," Eren said. "That kind of enforcement, without clear rules or clear definition of the laws involved, just unsettles me a bit."
The extent of damage to oil refineries and pipelines due to Hurricane Ike will be a big factor in future gas prices. An ExxonMobil storm update Sunday stated that the company's Baytown and Beaumont, Texas refineries as well as its offices in the Houston area remained closed.
Richard Newell, Gendell associate professor of energy and environmental economics at the Nicholas School of the Environment, wrote in an e-mail that although hurricanes have a short-term effect on gas prices, the long-term trend depends on the world price of crude oil.
"As gasoline refining and pipeline infrastructure recovers, gasoline prices should come down somewhat," Newell said. "But because crude oil prices remain high by historical standards, gasoline prices will also remain high unless crude declines significantly."
AAA Carolinas, a travel, automobile and insurance services nonprofit organization, asked consumers to conserve gasoline, travel only when necessary and not to make a run on the pumps.
"The fear of what might happen if these refineries are severely damaged has caused widespread panic resulting in some stations running out of product, some stations raising prices dramatically in anticipation of high fuel replacement costs and some stations trying to restrict the number of gallons being purchased," AAA Carolinas President and CEO David Parsons said in a statement Friday.
Senior Roshen Sethna went out to fill up her tank as soon as she heard about the price hikes, and she said prices have gone up further since she bought gas.
Eskinder Zewdu, a junior from Durham who has changed his driving habits because of the higher prices, said he thought Easley's order was only a short-term solution.
"It doesn't mean that the price of gas is going to go much lower," Zewdu said. "I guess if he can keep it at the same rate from here for the next couple of months that will be good."
Zewdu added that he and his friends have started carpooling since gas prices began rising, and he is careful only to make trips that are "worthwhile."
Sethna said she uses her car a lot-to go visit friends at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and to drive home. Despite her frequent travel, Sethna said she was not too worried about the price increases.
"This has happened in the past with other hurricanes, and the prices do eventually go back down," she said.
Newell said the government predicts gas prices to come back down eventually.
"Although gasoline prices will likely average above $3.50 per gallon through 2009, they should eventually come back down to the $2.30-$2.50 per gallon range within a few years," Newell said.
While students find alternative means to get from place to place, those who buy gas will have to watch the stations for lower rates.
"The prices might have better effects on the environment," Zewdu said, "but not better effects on our pockets."
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