Audrey Streb
DCNF Energy Reporter
California Democrats are railing against state regulators for economic conditions they helped unleash now that a possible gas price crisis looms.
California’s Committee on Utilities and Energy grilled several state regulators on Wednesday about a possible gas price spike as two major oil refineries in California prepare to close, according to local news outlet KCRA. Despite their outrage, California Democrats have targeted the fossil fuel industry for years by creating a stringent regulatory climate, and energy companies — including their refining capacity — are withdrawing from the state, setting the table for a potentially massive 75% jump in gas prices.
“I know what climate leadership does not look like, and that is $10 gas,” Democratic Assemblyman Cottie Petrie-Norris told regulators at the hearing.
California has the highest average per-gallon gas price at the pump compared to any other state, according to AAA gas price data. Meanwhile, California regulators have suggested increasing state involvement in refinery management, including the possibility of de facto state-owned refineries.
The California Legislature has granted regulatory agencies authority to establish stringent new rules for the oil and gas industry. In recent special legislative sessions, lawmakers backed Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s efforts to create new storage and maintenance rules for refiners, according to the publication. Newsom has also called on regulators to do more to keep oil refineries in the state, though he has allowed for the creation of stringent rules that produce a hostile environment for energy producers.
The regulators were met with several questions and criticism as lawmakers voiced concerns that regulators have overlooked Californian consumers and drivers by aggressively pursuing a green energy transition, though Democratic leadership in the state allowed — and even encouraged — agencies to enact strict regulations for years.
“I think I also heard you say that another closure can lead to a significant increase in costs to consumers on the price of gas?” Alvarez asked a regulator.
Phillips 66 and Valero both announced plans to close refineries in the state in 2024, and the retiring facilities jointly account for roughly 20% of California’s refining capacity, according to KCRA.
Refineries have been shutting down in California for years, and no new major oil refineries have come online in the state since 1969, according to the California Energy Commission. California’s “cap-and-trade” program, combined with its unfavorable tax environment and its low carbon fuel emission standard, are often highlighted as restrictive regulations pushing refineries to leave the state.
“In the two years since the Governor signed California’s gas price gouging law, the state has avoided severe gasoline price spikes like the historic 2022 spike, saving Californians billions of dollars at the pump,” a spokesperson for Newsom’s office wrote to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The law established the nation’s first state-level independent petroleum watchdog to hold Big Oil accountable, and the state has more transparency from the industry than ever before.”
A Phillips 66 spokesperson told the DCNF that the energy company “wants to continue to be a trusted and deliberate partner with the state.”
“We’re also not exiting California, still owning and operating various assets that will serve California commercial and customer demands, including the Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex,” the spokesperson, who also referred the DCNF to the company’s October 2024 press release, added.
The California Air Resources Board, the California Energy Commission, the Division of Petroleum Market Oversight, Alvarez’s office, Petrie-Norris’ office, Valero and California’s Committee on Utilities and Energy did not respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the comment from the Phillips 66 spokesperson.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
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Utter chutzpah!
Found guilty of murdering his parents, the defendant asks for leniency because he’s an orphan.
As usual, California leads the states in stupidity. What I don’t understand is if CA has all these refineries in house why are the gas prices higher than states with little or no refineries?
CA gasoline tax is $0.90/gallon. Here in Florida it is $0.37/gallon. Florida has no refineries. QED
The reason is the California special blends of gasoline.
The price of gasoline for normal states without refineries (simplified) is the wholesale price of gasoline plus the transportation differential.
If there is a refinery accident and extended refinery shut down in the neighboring state to the east, then the gasoline might have to come from the refineries two states to the west. There will be less transportation infrastructure on that route plus higher distance costs, so the local price of gasoline will modestly rise.
California needs neighboring states to produce their summer blend. If they produce their normal amount and place it into storage, and then switch their runs to conventional gasoline, then a California refinery goes down – there will be ZERO places to make up the lost gasoline production.
Prices will have to rise enough for significant demand destruction so California does not run completely out of gasoline.
The beauty of it all, is that the media will then blame the “oil companies” for price gouging, and the idiot politicians that actually caused the problem will get re-elected in their next campaign by running against “greedy oil companies”!
The Democratic People’s Republic of California also has legal ballot harvesting, and counties with more registered voters than residents eligible to vote.
I have my doubts about having more voters than residents. Got any references?
Read what he said again. What he said has been in the news for years. One of the reasons I left Kalifornia. An eligible voter must be living, a citizen, and over the age of 17.
Yes, I know what he wrote. I thought paraphrasing would be understood by intelligent readers.
I have my doubts about having more eligible voters than residents eligible to vote. Got any references?
The intent remains the same. Got any references? If it’s been in the news for years, then dredging up sources should be easy.
References? Chicago, NYC, Pennslyvania to begin with, or have you somehow missed or misunderstood the last 3 election cycles? In Chicago’s case, go back to the 1930’s. An intelligent writer would know this. Pay better attention.
Legends about Chicago, NYC, and Jersey (pardon me, New Jersey) are legend. His report was about California, which hardly has any need to stuff any ballot boxes.
I think this is the scenario being referred to – https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/sep/14/election-integrity-project-california/no-california-does-not-have-18-million-ineligible-/
As usual, it all depends on definitions. Despite Politifact’s strenuous defense, claiming it’s not legitimate to count inactive voters, it’s technically possible for an inactive voter to vote, so the claim that there are more eligible voters than residents seems to me to be correct.
Which is exactly what you’d expect after many people have reportedly left for Florida and Texas – people still on the rolls, but not actively voting.
Judicial Watch recently sued LA county because they were not maintaining their voter data base according to Federal law. LA county was forced to remove over a million ineligible names from their base. You can imagine how many ineligible there are statewide.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The infamous graveyard vote. They are still in the voter registration database.
LA County and State to Purge 1.5 Million Inactive Voters From Rolls – NBC Los Angeles
You could have found this as easily as I did. I don’t know why I’m helping a lazy person. Do a search and you’ll find many more.
Look up Judicial watch.
Their legal initiatives, nation wide, have resulted in multiple states now complying with voter registration laws and as many as 5 million removed from the rolls. I do not have specific numbers for California.
He said “registered voters”, not voters.
A registered voter need not be living in the district, indeed a registered voter might not be living at all.
CA, like most liberal districts, is very reluctant to remove voters from the roles, just because they died or moved.
Unless they’re Republicans..My parents were purged from the roles, both alive (at the time) and active voters. Of course this was in California to the north (Oregon) but the two states work together in lock step.
Reluctant to remove is against the law.
“the idiot politicians that actually caused the problem will get re-elected”…
And who’s to blame for that?
To a large degree, dead and otherwise inactive voters.
“… gasoline might have to come from the refineries two states to the west.” I hope this is a typo.
“If socialists understood economics they wouldn’t be socialists.” – Friedrich Hayek
“We’re such imbeciles. We never think about the consequences.” – Anonymous House Democrat
Yes, it does. You guys did this to yourselves – on purpose.
Or, legislation has consequences.
It’s almost like American liberals don’t understand cause and effect at all.
I figure because they are overly idealistic, they jump to wrong conclusions too fast and do not think far enough ahead.
Lefties don’t do tradeoffs but only comprehend absolutes. It’s a pathology that immiserates inters and slaughters millions.
“Lefties don’t do tradeoffs but only comprehend absolutes.”
Umm, that’s an absolute.
Lefties are trained to believe in their own omnipotence. They are convinced that whatever plan they come up with will work, and it will work exactly as they intend it to.
American Leftists, however, do.
Will California kindly secede before exporting millions of their sycophants to other states and ruining those states too?
It’s to late for that. California has been exporting their brand of craziness since at least the 70’s.
I visited LA in 1963. The smog was so thick breathing was not good for one’s health and eyes became irritated. There were about 2.5 million folks there in the early 1960s. Now there are 3.8 million. The region has 18.6 million.
Duck Assist says: ” On average, a person passes gas about 10 to 20 times a day, producing between 500 and 1500 mL of gas daily. ”
I think I see a problem. LA has too little and too much gas. A modern paradox.
I was in LA in 1963.. on a trip with my grandparents from the midwest to see my aunt who was in the Air Force. She was stationed in Sacramento but took my brother and me down to Disneyland. Drove down the valley in 100+ July heat and stayed in a motel somewhere in LA. Got up the next day and I can still feel the sting in my eyes after just walking a few feet. It made an impression no doubt. Was there last January and there was remarkably cleaner air. I can’t say that for all the trash on the streets.
I was born in LA (Van Nuys) in 1962. Fortunately, my parents moved out of state when I was an infant.
We used to ask, What does UCLA stand for? Answer, “Thats what happens when the smog lifts.”
“The California Legislature has granted regulatory agencies authority to establish stringent new rules for the oil and gas industry.”
******************
Common sense dictates that when you find yourself in a hole, you should stop digging. Apparently, the concept of common sense has (thus far) evaded the Golden State’s politicians and regulators.
Newsom quote from 2023:
“There’s a new sheriff in town in California, where we brought Big Oil to their knees. And I’m proud of this state.”
What did he think this would mean for the residents of CA?
“including the possibility of de facto state-owned refineries.” Would they be exempt from the mandates? Would they have to pay the penalties or would it be called a nil-sum game?
What about AZ and NV residents as real victims of the politicized regulatory schemes of CA Dems and that evil CARB.
Start the sign up for the class action suit by negatively impacted consumers in CA, AZ, and NV.