CHARLESTON — Senate Majority Leader H. Truman Chafin today introduced legislation directing the West Virginia Attorney General to investigate gasoline price-gouging by wholesale and retail dealers throughout the state.

In remarks on the Senate floor Senator Chafin said the wholesale price of crude oil continues to fall yet the price of gasoline continues to rise, often times unreasonably.

The price of gasoline in Charleston increased 10 cents last week, and prices on the Mercer County and Virginia border are consistently 20 cents less than in Charleston. Gasoline is some 25-30 cents cheaper at retail establishments in Virginia and Tennessee.

“It’s past time that the retail price of gasoline can be raised at the whims of wholesalers and retailers in one section of the state while they are drastically less expensive in neighboring states,” Chafin said.

Officials in North Carolina, Texas and Florida are investigating claims of price-gouging as gasoline prices soar across large swaths of the nation in the wake of falling crude oil prices worldwide.

“It’s simply not understandable why gasoline prices keep edging up further even as oil prices continue falling to record lows on weak global demand and the strengthening dollar,” Chafin said.

Chafin said he will urge Attorney General Darrell McGraw to issue subpoenas to companies and conduct an investigation regarding inconsistent prices in different parts of the state so consumers can be fully advised and protected.

“There is no excuse for ripping off consumers who are already hurting from high gas prices and a weak economy,” Senator Chafin said.