The Daily Oklahoman Charles Crumpley Column.

Byline: Charles Crumpley

Sep. 10--Why do consumers complain about one price hike, but not another?

Take the two kinds of gas, for example. Consumers wailed about gasoline price hikes but not natural gas increases.

Gasoline prices in June hit $1.82 a gallon in Oklahoma, up 60 percent from its early-year level. The reaction? You'd think consumers had been ordered to chop off a toe. They shrieked. Letters to the editor were peppered with angry writers. Some opined that "Big Oil" was carrying out a grand conspiracy.

Now, consider natural gas. On Wednesday, natural gas futures prices for October delivery closed above $5 per thousand cubic feet …