SAN DIEGO -- San Diego leaders are warning drivers to brace themselves for the traditional summer spike in gas prices over the next few weeks.

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City Officials Respond To High Prices A Calm Before The Storm?

At the beginning of the year gas prices were around $1 a gallon in some places, but that didn't last long.

Rep. Bob Filner, D-San Diego, is drawing attention to San Diego's high gas prices by handing out a mock award for the most expensive gas in the county.

"The raise (prices) up and lower them at will," Filner said. "There's no market forces at work here. There's no shortage. The Middle East is not a major problem. The additives are not a major problem. They charge what we will pay -- what the market will bear."

"We are going along with this quietly. We are not speaking up. We are not making noise. We are not jumping out of the water that they've put us in," he added.

According to SanDiegoGasPrices.com the average gas price for regular unleaded in April last year was $1.58 per gallon. By June, that price increased 47 cents to $2.05.

Currently, the average price per gallon is $1.56, according to 10News.

Last week, gasoline prices virtually stood still in Southern California after 14 weeks.

"We seem to have reached a plateau in pricing, with last week's prices barely moving and this week's actually dipping a little," said Automobile Club of Southern California spokesman Jeffrey Spring.

"However, with the summer driving season almost upon us and the economy strengthening, it's likely that we'll see prices inching upward again, but how much is hard to tell," he added.