WASHINGTON (WUSA) -- DC Attorney General Irvin Nathan has begun an investigation of gas pricing in the city to see if monopolistic or anti-competitive practices are boosting the price of gasoline at the pump.
"There are allegations monopolistic and other anti-competitive pricing of gasoline in certain sections of the District of Columbia.
"We have received allegations both from consumers and operators of stations that they are required to purchase at prices that are set on an anti-competitive basis and we are investigating to see if these allegations can be sustained," DC Attorney General Irvin Nathan told 9NEWS NOW.
"If there are monopolistic practices, if prices are set not on a competitive basis but on the fact that certain people have market power, that would violate both federal and District laws and we would seek remedies for that if it could be substantiated," he said.
One focus of the probe is apparently Capitol Petroleum Group, which owns or operates more than 40 percent of the gas stations in the District.
Some station operators believe they have been forced to pay unfair prices for gasoline.
The company did not accept 9NEWS NOW requests for interviews on Wednesday to provide its position on the probe. But on Thursday, Joe Mamo, the owner & CEO of Capitol Petroleum Group, provided the following statement:
"The high price of gasoline is of great concern to everyone. Twenty-five years ago as a struggling young worker, I saw an opportunity to be an entrepreneur and took significant financial risks to invest in a growing market. I started CPG in D.C. and have been servicing D.C. motorists for more than two decades. And while I've been successful and now own several dozen gas stations in the area, I simply own them - I do not operate them and I do not set the price of gas at the pump. Nearly 90 percent of the sites I own are managed by individual franchisees. As a distributor, I purchase gasoline from major refiners which I then deliver and sell to the local operators. CPG and other distributors are prohibited by law from determining the prices at which their service station operators sell gas to the public. My mark-up has decreased over the past year and is not the cause of the high pump prices which I simply don't control and which are set by each individual operator. In fact, the city makes more money on each gallon of gas than CPG does.
The unfortunate reality is that the price of gas is inflated by the world market and multiple other factors, primarily crude oil costs, taxes, refining costs, and distribution and marketing. There is a gross misunderstanding about the difference between a gas station owner and a gas station operator, and about how a gallon of gasoline is actually priced. I hope with education on the real issues at hand, we can put this matter to rest."