The owner of Conoco stations along Interstate 80 will stop using potentially deceptive advertising and will give $5,000 each to three charities under an agreement with the attorney general’s office.

“Our No. 1 goal is to stop consumer confusion at the pumps in North Platte and elsewhere,” Attorney General Jon Bruning said Friday in announcing the agreement with Wilkinson Development Inc.

Conoco dealer Mark Wilkinson agreed to put all information — the price and the pumps where that price is available — on electronic signs at all of his stores, Bruning said during a news conference call.

He will also donate $5,000 each to North Platte Area Children’s Museum, the North Platte Community Playhouse and the North Platte United Way.

Bruning said he is still negotiating with the owner of the BP stations that also used similar potentially deceptive advertising.

Bruning began investigating the gas station practices last month after a story in the Journal Star described the practice of two convenience stores along I-80 that lured customers in with a very low gas price, then made it available at only two pumps.

Many customers did not pay attention to the pump price and were shocked and angry at the cost of filling up their tanks. Although much of the consumer criticism was aimed at Conoco and BP stations in North Platte, similar practices had also been reported along the interstate at Lexington and Ogallala.

Bruning said he believed the gas stations were violating the state’s deceptive practices act and began an investigation of the two North Platte gas stations. The settlement will affect all of Wilkinson’s stores in the state.

Margaret Williams, whose e-mail about the gas “scam” sparked news coverage of the practice, said she was pleased with the attorney general’s settlement.

Williams was on her way home to Grand Island from a family reunion in Colorado when she saw a sign for $3.09 a gallon for gas and pulled off I-80 at the North Platte exit. When she got to the station, she found the price of gas at all the pumps, except 1 and 2, was $3.59.

She tried the nearby BP station. Same situation.

Down the road a few blocks, a sign at the Shell station said: “All pumps the same price: $3.14.”

Williams sent out a consumer alert e-mail that traveled to people on both coasts within a few weeks.

“This is just really exciting that Mr. Wilkinson has to pay a fine/donation. I think that is wonderful,” she said. “The North Platte community deserves to have something nice done for them.”

But Williams said she is very disappointed that Roy Wagner is still in negotiations with the state. Wagner, the owner of the BP store, has “constantly stated he would stop if they (Conoco) would stop,” she said on Friday.

Wilkinson’s company picked donations over a costly legal battle.

“They could have paid $30,000 to $40,000 in attorney fees trying to prove what we truly believe” — that the signage was not deceptive, said Jim Paloucek, a North Platte attorney who represented Wilkinson. “Or they could cut their losses, clarify what they were doing and keep the money locally.”

Under the agreement, both price and availability will be displayed for equal time and in equal size, letter type and wattage on the signs, Bruning said.

And at the station, the pumps dispensing the cheapest fuel will be conspicuously marked. Clear signage at each pump will direct consumers to the pumps offering the lowest-priced gasoline, he said.

“When consumers see an advertised price, they have a reasonable expectation that they can easily find gas at that price,” he said.

Assuring that customers see the price and pump numbers at the same time will “minimize confusion,” Bruning said in a telephone news conference.

Wilkinson recognized the need for that change, Bruning said.

“We thank him for his cooperation and are grateful his stations will have straightforward signs.”

Bruning said he’ll continue to negotiate with Wagner.

“I’m not sure it will be the exact same deal, because they continued the deceptive advertising,” Bruning said. “I don’t want to resort to litigation, but I will protect the citizens,” he said.

Wagner’s attorney, Tim Thompson, said negotiations with Bruning’s office are ongoing and he sent some information via e-mail Friday.

Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com.