TIFTON — Two Tift County service stations are among 166 in the state being served subpoenas so facts can be gathered and representatives with the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs can determine if those stations inflated prices they charged for fuel following hurricane damage to Gulf of Mexico oil refineries.

“We’re still processing information and we have a total of 166 stations that we’ve authorized attorneys to send investigative demands or subpoenas to,” said Shawn Conroy of the GOCA. “We expect to have stations that didn’t price gouge, but we have enough information to look into these.”

Conroy said seven complaints of possible price gouging in Tift County were reported to his office Sept. 16-26.

Gov. Sonny Perdue activated anti-gouging statutes Sept. 12. State law requires the governor to issue an executive order declaring a state of emergency and activating Georgia’s consumer protection statues, according to The Associated Press. The activation expires this weekend, and there has been no word about whether the governor plans to extend the period.

The names of the stations will not be released until the overall state investigation into complaints by 1,500 angry Georgia gasoline consumers is complete.

Civil actions filed against guilty businesses can be resolved administratively. If resolved as a civil action, defendants would agree to pay a fine and to make consumer restitution. The cases will be filed in Fulton County Superior Court. The GOCA will most likely release a list of the stations the investigation shows charged unfair gasoline prices. The overall investigation will not be completed for several months.

Information from a story written by Patti Dozier of the Thomasville Times Enterprise was included in this story.

To contact senior reporter Angie Thompson, call 382-4321.