Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee filed charges Monday against two Houston-area gas stations for alleged price gouging during Hurricane Beryl.
According to Menefee, his office received more than 250 complaints of price gouging after the hurricane left millions of people in the Houston area without power. Most of those businesses — including hotels, gas stations and grocery stores — received cease-and-desist letters to get them to lower their prices, Menefee said.
However, only two businesses refused to comply: two Shell gas stations, one in Bellaire and the other in Baytown.
“The fact that these companies refused to do the right thing when they had the opportunity to do so shows why we must hold them accountable,” Menefee said. “We must make an example of them so that the next time a storm hits, our communities can be confident they will not be taken advantage of.”
The Bellaire gas station reportedly sold regular unleaded gasoline for $3.79 and $4.29 per gallon, an increase of 25% and 41%, respectively, over the pre-hurricane pump price of $3.03. The Baytown gas station reportedly sold premium gasoline for $5.49 per gallon, an increase of 44% over the pre-hurricane pump price of $3.80.
The lawsuit was filed against several companies responsible for operating the two gas stations: BTCM Aviation LLC, Real Estate Chapter Texas LLC and Houston Ventures LLC, which operate the Bellaire location, and A2S PetroTech LLC, which operates the Baytown location.
Menefee recommends that anyone who encounters price gouging report it to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office by texting 346-354-7459, emailing [email protected] or filing a consumer fraud report on the Attorney’s Office website.
“We will continue our price gouging every storm,” Menefee said. “We will not allow a company that does business in our communities to take advantage of the people who live there.”
