Editorial: Gas price watchdog is needed

Tuesday, March 18, 2003 | 8:56 a.m.

Southern Nevadans are shuddering, as are all Americans, as gas prices continue their steadfast march above $2 a gallon. These are the highest prices for gas that most of us have ever seen outside of Europe -- where taxes on gasoline are five to 10 times higher. Europeans are long used to higher gas prices and enjoy a major benefit brought by the tax revenue, which is a highly efficient rail system that provides a viable alternative to the automobile, whether traveling to work or sightseeing on the weekends. But here, without much of an alternative to roads, we watch gas prices soaring to record highs with exasperation and anger.

The worst year for gas prices was 1980, when Iran and Iraq went to war against each other. The price then -- $1.25 a gallon -- was the equivalent of $2.59 a gallon in 2001 dollars, according to the Department of Energy. Anyone remembering other such years -- 1973, during the Arab oil embargo; 1978, during the Iranian revolution; 1991, during the Gulf War -- can recall sharp increases in gasoline prices. They also remember the calls from the public, demanding a trustworthy and detailed explanation for the increases.

Unfortunately, the public never did receive satisfactory explanations, leaving many people feeling as if the oil companies took advantage of the geo-political turmoil to gouge consumers. The feeling is alive today, with many consumers and interest groups using the G-word to express their frustration with the rising prices. That's why Nevada Attorney General Brian Sandoval is asking gasoline industry officials to justify the prices now being charged in Nevada, which are the third highest in the country. Sandoval accompanied his request with a warning that he will prosecute anyone engaging in market manipulation.

Because gasoline is so critical to everyone's life, what's needed, whenever prices start spiking, are widely publicized and regionalized reports from a federal panel of consumer watchdogs and energy experts. The oil industry should be required to cooperate, much like electric and gas companies must cooperate with state utilities commissions. Price increases would be no more popular, but they would be better understood.