Florida Station Charged $8 for Gas Ahead of Hurricane Idalia

A photo circulating on social media showed a gas station near Orlando, Florida, had prices listed at $8 ahead of Hurricane Idalia making landfall in the state.

"Price gouging going on in Orlando near I-4. Gas station location 8788 Vineland ave. Orlando, fl 32821 @GovRonDeSantis @ChristinaPushaw please share #HurricaneIdalia #hurricane #Florida," @FloridaBeachGirl posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday. The photos in the post showed a gas station displaying prices of $7.99 for regular fuel and $8.99 for premium.

Patrick DeHaan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told Newsweek that "there are a number of stations GasBuddy has become familiar with near Orlando's airport and tourist areas that have long charged well in excess of local prices and this appears to be one of those stations."

In January, an X user named Michael Muldoon posted a similar photo of the gas station showing gas prices above $6. "Finally drive by the overpriced Shell gas station on Vineland Ave. People were actually getting gas!" the post said.

Several reviews of the gas station on Google state that the location is well known to have high gas prices that have spiked ire among customers.

"8$ for gas!!! Unreal. Should be in jail," one review, posted on August 26, said.

In May, another review on Google said, "I wouldn't even leave a star, but I had to leave a review!! This gas station is price gouging!!! DO NOT COME HERE. Gas is $7.99 a gallon. But up the street gas is half the price! This is not right. THIS IS A SCAM!! DO NOT COME HERE PLEASE!!"

Newsweek called numerous businesses in the area, including the Courtyard by Marriott Orlando Lake Buena Vista in the Marriott Village. The photo below was sent to Newsweek by a hotel employee and the high gas prices can be seen at the station. The employee told Newsweek that the specific gas station's prices are much higher than other local stations in the area.

Newsweek made several attempts to reach out to the gas station in question over the phone.

Hurricane Idalia made landfall in parts of Florida on Wednesday morning as a Category 3 storm, with forecasters predicting heavy rainfall, high windspeed and potentially dangerous storm surges.

Earlier this month, WPEC news in West Palm Beach, Florida, reported that a Shell gas station had raised prices for premium fuel to $6.49 per gallon.

American Automobile Association spokesperson Aixa Diaz told Newsweek on August 22 that "Gas stations set their own prices, so it's not uncommon to see some stations well above the state average...Depends where they're located—sometimes you see stations with higher prices near airports, for example."

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody's office says that price gouging is illegal during a state of emergency in the state and it is defined as when "(1) there is a gross disparity between the price charged during the state of emergency and the average price during the 30 days before the state of emergency or (2) the price grossly exceeds the average price the same or similar commodity was available in the trade area during the 30 days before the declaration of the state of emergency, unless the seller can justify the price by showing increases in its costs or market trends."

"If there is a gross disparity between the prior price and the current charge, it could be considered price gouging," Moody's office states.

Newsweek reached out to Moody's office on the phone for comment.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services also issued an alert this week to residents that there was a widespread gas contamination incident "that impacted gas stations in the Tampa Bay area supplied by Citgo."

"Any fuel purchased from 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 26 through Sunday, August 27, at impacted stations has a strong likelihood of being contaminated with diesel fuel," the alert said.