AAA Wants Gas-Price Inquiry

Sundstrom spoke at a Senate hearing at which lawmakers asked energy experts to explain the spell of unplanned refinery shutdowns that have thrown gas supplies into disarray from coast to coast, boosting average pump prices to a record $3.09 per gallon in the United States and to $3.61 in the Bay Area, according to AAA figures published Tuesday. Joe Sparano, president of the Western States Petroleum Association, said industry profits have been high and the refinery problems aggravating but disputed the idea that any collusion had triggered the gas price spike. "There have been more than two dozen investigations in the last 20 years and none have ever found anything," said Sparano, adding that the real problem, particularly in California, has been the difficulty of adding refining capacity to meet a growing thirst for gasoline. "These groups should call for a streamlined permitting process," he said. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/16/BUGVAPRFRQ1.DTL [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on May 24, 2007]

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