Energy secretary says she hopes gas prices won't reach $4

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Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Sunday that she hopes gas prices will not reach $4 per gallon soon, adding that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is "controlling the agenda."

Jennifer Granholm sitting at a table using a laptop: Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is seen during a Senate Appropriations hearing on June 15© UPI Photo Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is seen during a Senate Appropriations hearing on June 15
"According to AAA, the national average of gas prices is now $3.42 a gallon. Bank of America is predicting crude oil prices could soar another 50 percent by next June. Could the average gas price in America be $4 a gallon in the United States soon?" "State of the Union" co-anchor Dana Bash asked Granholm on CNN.

"Well, we certainly hope not," the Energy secretary answered, saying President Biden "is all over this."

"Of course, every president is frustrated because they can't control the price of gasoline because it's a global market. You can call upon increased supply, which he has done and OPEC is unfortunately controlling the agenda with respect to oil prices. OPEC is a cartel, and it controls over 50 percent of the supply of gasoline," she added.

Granholm also noted that OPEC countries decided last week against increasing their supply, adding that it is "going to increase the chokehold on access to affordable fuel at the pump."

She also acknowledged that Americans should expect to pay higher costs for heating their homes in the winter.

"Yeah, this is going to happen. It will be more expensive this year than last year. We are in a slightly beneficial position. Certainly relative to Europe, their chokehold of natural gas is very significant," the Energy secretary said.

"They're going to pay five times higher, but we have the same problem in fuels that the supply chains have, which is that the oil and gas companies are not flipping the switch as quickly as the demand requires."