"The situation is really alarming," says Alexander Khavkin, professor at the oil and gas institute at Russia's academy of science.
Unlike New Jersey's utility board, New York's does not approve increases before gas companies institute them.
Europe contains "prime targets for shale gas exploration," the institute said.
The city instituted gas rationing beginning on Friday as fuel shortages and long gas lines continued across the city, a situation Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said could persist for several more weeks.
In Yonkers, where some 10,400 customers were still without power, down from about 21,000 a few days earlier, Mayor Mike Spano instituted gas rationing, and police officers were posted at service stations to prevent fights over fuel.
But even as the surge in prices appeared to be easing, policy makers and consumer groups nationwide increased calls for a host of government interventions to punish profiteers, reduce gas taxes and institute price caps.
The 2002 federal legislation, the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act, also required operators of big gas pipelines to institute a program that identified "high-consequence" areas — such as where a lot of people are living or where evacuation is difficult — and noted particular risks.
New York City Mayor Bloomberg signed an emergency order instituting gas rationing on Thursday.
The "Zero Routine Flaring by 2030" initiative introduced by the World Bank is supported by governments, oil and gas companies, universities, and institutes who have recognized that associated gas flaring is unsustainable from both economic and environmental perspectives.
To help drivers combat high gas prices, the city instituted a $1 surcharge last year and is considering making it permanent, she said.
