Gas price jumps to $3.79/gal at area station, hovers above $3/gal elsewhere; legislators want hikes investigated

FRACKVILLE – If you drive Route 61 through Frackville, this week, one gas station’s price hike might give you sticker shock. It’s a trend statewide that two legislators say they want investigated.

The Speedway gas station at Route 61 and Altamont Boulevard jumped to an area-high $3.79/gal for regular fuel Thursday, $.50/gal higher than Turkey Hill and Unity a few blocks away and well above the area’s average price.

Thursday night, most stations in Frackville and the Mahanoy Valley hovered just above $3/gal.

Speedway’s price was also the highest along the Interstate 81 corridor between Frackville and Harrisburg.

State Reps. Joe Ciresi (D-Montgomery) and Jim Haddock (D-Lackawanna/Luzerne) said in a joint statement Thursday they want Attorney General Dave Sunday, along with the Department of Agriculture and the Office of the Consumer Advocate to investigate recent price hikes.

“As soon as the first bomb struck in Iran, gas stations across our state hiked up their prices, not even batting an eye to the fact that the gas in their tanks were already bought and paid for,” the legislators said. “Now, Pennsylvanians will have to figure out not only how to put food on the table, but how to get to the grocery store in the first place – and this is after costs have been rising faster than worker pay. 

“In a time of such uncertainty, Pennsylvanians should be able to afford to go where they need to go,” they added. “Taking advantage of Pennsylvanians is never right, and in these times it’s even worse – and deserves an independent investigation to determine if laws were broken. We’ll also be pushing for new laws to address price gouging and consumer protection.”

The article Gas price jumps to $3.79/gal at area station, hovers above $3/gal elsewhere; legislators want hikes investigated first appeared on The Shenandoah Sentinel.