A Norwalk Shell gasoline station on Thursday paid a $1,449 settlement to the state Department of Consumer Protection over allegations of price gouging during storm Sandy, authorities say.
The station at 307 Connecticut Ave., known as Connecticut Avenue Shell, raised its retail gasoline price 10 cents a gallon on Nov. 1, even though there wasn’t a corresponding increase in wholesale prices that day, the state consumer watchdog said. The station sold 4,830 gallons of gasoline at the increased price.
State law prohibits fuel suppliers from charging excessive prices during abnormal market disruptions, which included the late October storm. Consumer Protection wanted Connecticut Avenue Shell to pay three times the profit made from the dime-a-gallon increase.
In paying the settlement, Connecticut Avenue Shell admitted no wrongdoing. The $1,449 will go toward consumer protection education and enforcement programs.
