CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Channel 9 contacted Congressman Robin Hayes and told him that local gas prices are jumping by the hour, now he is calling for a federal investigation.

U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes, (R) N.C. District 8, said "There's no excuse for it. There's no rationale. There's no justification."

Hayes sent this letter to the Federal Trade Commission demanding answers.

“There's no way that this should be used as an excuse to gouge people at the pump and that's the only thing that you can use to describe this,” Hayes said.

In the meantime, Channel 9 has been asking questions of our own -- asking gas station owners to defend the hikes.

The head of one of Charlotte's biggest gas players, The Pantry, says refineries in the Gulf are shutting down.

That's making our prices spike more than other places and that people rushing to fill up doesn't help.

Pete Sodini of The Pantry says, "When you got a run on buying like yesterday, inventory can literally vaporize."

But he admits, if you see a dollar jump, that sounds like gouging.

"Yeah, sure as hell does,” Sodini agrees.

Drive, Jerry Mills waited just one hour and says he ended up paying thirty cents more per gallon.

He thinks it is fishy.

We asked, "You think they're just ripping people off, gouging?"

"That's the way I feel,” Mills says.

Hayes hopes to find out for sure.