Essentially. the law says that it is illegal to charge a price that is \"too high" {exact words: "unreasonably excessive\") during emergencies or natural disasters. Under the law, the state Attorney General's Ofce can put a stop to price gouging and seek refunds for consumers who paid too much. The courts may also impose penalties against price gougers of up to $5,000 for each violation. The law applies to all levels of the supply chain from the manufacturer to the distributor to the retailer. An example of the application of this law was in September 201?, in the wake of a rupture in the pipeline that delivers gas to gas distributors in the state. The price of gas shot up, and many gas stations actually ran out of gas to sell. The North Carolina Attorney General invoked the state's price-gouging law. and asked consumers to report gas stations that were charging a price that was deemed to be \"too high.\