Bush sees upward pressure on gas prices after Ike
Source: Reuters
(Adds Bush quotes, background) WASHINGTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Monday there would be some upward pressure on the price of gasoline after Hurricane Ike and that he was concerned about the energy situation after the storm raked across Texas. "For drivers or folks at the pump, they're going to have to expect some upward pressure on price because the storm disrupted the supply of gasoline as a result of shutting down refineries and pipelines," Bush said. "There's going to be a pinch. I wish it wasn't the case, but it is," Bush said. There were some reports that gasoline hit $5 a gallon in parts of the country as the Category 2 storm approached the U.S. Gulf Coast last week. Bush advised consumers who felt they were being gouged at the gasoline pump to contact the Department of Energy and the Federal Trade Commission to register their complaints. He said that, while the energy situation after the storm was "one that's of concern," a positive sign was that some electricity was being restored, although it would take time to reconnect lines to so many homes even as crews came from other states to help. "The storm damaged a lot of infrastructure but, truthfully, it was not as bad as some predicted it would be on the energy sector," he said. Citing damage in Texas and Louisiana, Bush said: "We obviously watch this recovery very carefully because the federal government is playing a crucial role in helping the people of the devastated areas recover." Bush, eager to show that he and his administration have been focused on the storm -- in contrast to the slow government response to Hurricane Katrina three years ago -- will travel to view the damage from Ike on Tuesday. "I'm confident there will be people that are very frustrated because their lives have been severely affected by this storm, and my message will be that we hear you and we'll work as hard and as fast as we can to help you get your lives back up to normal," Bush said. (Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky and Matt Spetalnick, editing by Walter Bagley)
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