In 2014, a major ice storm hit the southeastern U.S. The storm brought down power lines and trees, cutting electricity in many areas, making travel difficult, and slowing down repair crews. Heating homes became a major challenge. The storm created shortages of power generators. As a result, those products sold at prices much higher than normal. These high prices provoked cries of "price gouging" and calls on the government to impose price controls to prevent gouging. While no one likes to pay a higher price than normal for something, consider what would have happened with a price ceiling. The economic intuition is revealing.