Why Does California Gas Cost So Much?

Is there anyone in California who has not wondered why gas is more expensive in California than other states?

Well, good news. California’s governor want to know why too. Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked CA’s AG Xavier Becerra to find out why, and make sure it’s not because of price fixing or other unfair practices.

AG Becerra agrees, and plans to find out.

“The state’s average price for a gallon of regular gasoline on Oct. 21 was $4.14 and San Diego County’s average price was $4.12, according to AAA. The national average was $2.65 per gallon,” according to the LA Times and the Associated Press.

We often hear that the reason is the strict environmental standards that CA has. We have a special blend only made for us and therefore it costs more. It does, but maybe we still pay more.

The news story quotes Severin Borenstein, a professor of UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business who has been studying this. Borenstein says he sees no reason for California’s “mystery surcharge” that has cost purchaser in CA “many billions of dollars over the years.”

Even accounting for California’s “unique environmental rules that impose stricter refining standards” Californians pay 40 cents more per gallon based on 2018 figures.

Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, calls this “a pretty big step.” It’s the first time a governor has requested an investigation and prosecution by the attorney general in modern history into the oil industry, he said. Prosecution, if something is found.

The governor earlier fired the state’s top gas and oil regulator for doubling the state’s fracking permits this year.