COLUMBIA, S.C. - The South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff has requested a federal inquiry into natural gas prices that continue to rise.
Agency executive director Dukes Scott said the agency has never asked for such an investigation and is doing so as the representative for South Carolina natural gas consumers.
Scott said some analysts have suggested that natural gas marketers are taking profits by keeping prices high despite statistics that show the nation has adequate supplies for the 2005-06 winter months.
"We can't just sit here," Scott said. "It's getting too bad."
Scott said letters were sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the state's congressional delegation.
"There is no assertion by natural gas marketers - nor is the ORS aware of any prevailing empirical data - that suggests the nation is in short supply of natural gas," according to an agency news release.
However, the release said, the price of natural gas as doubled in the past year.
Scott said the next step is to see if the federal agencies agree to look into the high prices.
"As representatives of the public interest, we believe it is prudent to bring these questions to the forefront for consideration and examination," Scott said.
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