(INDIANAPOLIS) - The Indiana Attorney General's Office is conducting formal investigations into 30 fuel retailers following consumer complaints about possible price gouging during the state's energy emergency.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle reports the investigations stem from complaints received after Gov. Mike Braun declared an energy emergency on April 8. The order temporarily suspended Indiana's 7% gasoline sales tax and later suspended the state's 36-cent-per-gallon gasoline excise tax through June 7.
Attorney General Todd Rokita said Thursday his office has received more than 170 consumer complaints since the emergency declaration. Those complaints have resulted in 30 formal investigations and informal inquiries involving about 100 additional gas stations.
"We're looking at each one of them," Rokita said.
Rokita said price gouging investigations can be complex and may continue beyond the current emergency period.
The attorney general's office is reviewing fuel prices from the seven days before the April 8 executive order and comparing retail prices with wholesale fuel costs during the same period.
The state has created a public dashboard, INFuelWatch.com, that tracks prices at approximately 4,600 gas stations across Indiana and allows consumers to submit complaints.
Davey Neal, deputy director of the Consumer Protection Division, said investigators are focused on situations where the gap between wholesale and retail fuel prices appears significantly higher than normal or differs substantially from similar stations in the same region.
State officials said retailers found to have engaged in illegal price gouging could face fines for each violation and be required to surrender profits gained through the practice.
The investigations remain ongoing.