‘Hot Fuel’ Comes Under Federal Scrutiny

Federal lawmakers said that oil companies and service station owners cheated consumers due to fuel’s tendency to expand in warm temperatures, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

U.S. motorists could pay an extra $1.5 billion this summer because of so-called “hot fuel,” lawmakers said, the Times reported.

The hearing was chaired by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), who is also a Democratic presidential candidate.

The price-penalty is legal and not in dispute, the Times said, but consumer groups, truckers and others say the cost to drivers is soaring along with gasoline and diesel prices. Gas prices hit a record $3.218 last month.

The groups want gas stations to install devices that would end the inequity by automatically adjusting volume according to the temperature at the pump, the Times reported.

The costs are most acute in California, where the weather is consistently warm and motorists often pay the highest fuel prices in the country, the Times said.