MONTGOMERY (AP) – The Alabama Attorney General’s Office has received more than 1,500 complaints since Friday concerning rising gasoline prices.

A spokesman, Chris Bence, says the office’s consumer affairs line has received the calls from people who believe stations have unfairly raised the price. The prices started going up as much as 30 to 40 cents a gallon Friday at some stations as Hurricane Ike approached the petroleum rich Texas coast.

Gov. Bob Riley issued a state of emergency Friday evening. That triggered a state law that prohibits businesses from raising prices more than 25 percent when an emergency has been declared.

Bence says each complaint received will be investigated.