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Texas gas stations to pay $166K for price gouging during Harvey

By Ray Downs
Motorists gather at a Houston gas station to avoid rising flood waters amid Hurricane Harvey on August 27, 2017. At the time, some Texas gas stations gouged prices to as high as $8.99 per gallon, about four times the average price in the state. File Photo by Jerome Hicks/UPI
Motorists gather at a Houston gas station to avoid rising flood waters amid Hurricane Harvey on August 27, 2017. At the time, some Texas gas stations gouged prices to as high as $8.99 per gallon, about four times the average price in the state. File Photo by Jerome Hicks/UPI | License Photo

July 6 (UPI) -- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Thursday 48 gas stations in the state will pay a $166,592 settlement to customers who were victims of price gouging during Hurricane Harvey last year.

The settlement will be paid out via separate agreements. Most of the gas stations involved in the settlement are located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

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"At the outset of Harvey, I made it clear that my office would not tolerate price gouging of Texans by anyone looking to profit from the hurricane," Paxton said in a statement. "The response to Hurricane Harvey showed the incredible generosity of Texans. These settlements should teach the few who take advantage of their fellow residents to follow the law in the future."

On Aug. 23, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state disaster, under which is a law that prohibits "exorbitant or excessive" pricing on essential goods, including fuel.

Each of the 48 gas stations charged prices higher than $3.99 per gallon at the time, with some charging as high as $8.99.

At the time, the average price of gas per gallon was about $2.14.

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According to a list of the individual settlements posted online, a gas station in Garland, Texas, is paying the highest amount -- $14,870. Another Garland gas station will pay the lowest, $191.68.

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