Thank Democrats for California Gasoline Prices – Watts Up With That?

Guest “Pick on California Day” by David Middleton

Anyone else fed up with Breck Boy whining about price gouging?

Oil and gas trade group decries Gov. Newsom’s ‘personal insults’ in wake of bill designed to lower pump prices

Newsom signed a bill Monday that would require oil refineries to maintain a minimum inventory level of fuel in an effort to avoid scarce supply

Published October 14, 2024

 By Louis Casiano FOX Business

California Gov. Gavin Newsom prioritized politics over policy while hurling repeated insults at opponents of a bill he signed into law Monday in an effort to combat rising gas prices, the leader of an energy trade group said.

Shortly after lawmakers passed a law to rein in gas prices, which gives regulators the authority to require that refineries keep a certain amount of fuel on hand in an effort to keep prices low when refineries go offline for maintenance, Newsom blasted oil companies and the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), a trade association, for allegedly spreading “mistruths” and engaging in “manipulation.”

“Particularly WSPA and their talking points and big oil that knowingly continues to lie to the people,” Newsom said while flanked by lawmakers in Sacramento, highlighting the struggles many Californians feel at the pump.

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Fox Business

“The struggles many Californians feel at the pump” are 100% due to California Democrat energy and environmental malfeasance. Due to California’s special blend requirements, most of the gasoline consumed in California has to be refined in California…. Yet California’s political hostility is driving oil refiners to leave the state…

Why are all the oil refineries leaving California, and is it time to do something about it

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by Monty Torres Thu, April 17th 2025

Another oil refinery will soon be closing in California.

That’s in addition to a refinery already scheduled to close before the end of this year, 2025.just a few months from now.

Wednesday’s announcement now setting off alarm bells in Sacramento, throughout the state… and beyond.

“Our fuel supply is in jeopardy,” cautioned valley Congressman Vince Fong. “This is not a distant concern. This is not an academic conversation. This is happening right now!”

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“It’s clear that the political environment in California has been hostile to refiners, and the state badly needs to revise its mentality or face a declining number of refineries and higher prices.”

It was a sentiment that was echoed by valley congressman Vince Fong.

“This is something that is not created by the market,” Fong asserted. “This is something that is directly caused by Gavin Newsom’s poor energy policies.”

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Fox 26 News

It’s as if the California state government was trying to do everything possible to drive up gasoline prices.

 In-Brief Analysis May 5, 2025

Why California usually pays more at the pump for gasoline

Data source: AAA

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Retail prices for regular grade gasoline in California are consistently higher than in any other state in the continental United States, often exceeding the national average by more than a dollar per gallon. Several factors contribute to this high price, including state taxes and fees, environmental requirements, special fuel requirements, and isolated petroleum markets.

Taxes and fees
The components of retail gasoline prices are taxes and fees, distribution and marketing, refining costs, and crude oil prices. Drivers in California pay the highest taxes at the pump, equivalent to $0.90 per gallon (gal) between local, state, and federal taxes as of March 2025.

Federal taxes—which are the same for each state—account for $0.18 of the $0.90/gal in taxes. The other $0.72/gal is made up of state excise tax ($0.60/gal), state sales tax ($0.10/gal), and an underground storage tank fee ($0.02/gal). California’s state gasoline excise tax is the highest in the United States; the average across all states is $0.28/gal.

Data source: California Energy Commission

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Environmental requirements
In addition to state taxes, the California Energy Commission estimates that environmental compliance costs added as much as $0.54/gal as of March 2025. The state’s Cap-and-Trade Program and Low Carbon Fuel Standard reflect costs associated with fuel supplier emissions and carbon intensity, and these costs are ultimately reflected in the price consumers pay at the pump.

Special fuel requirements
California also mandates a special blend of gasoline designed to reduce pollution and improve air quality. This fuel burns cleaner but is more expensive to produce because it requires more processing steps and expensive blending components.

Refiners outside the state only make this blend to supply California’s market, meaning that California primarily relies on in-state refineries for its gasoline supply.

Isolated petroleum markets
Supply side issues also contribute to higher California gasoline prices relative to the rest of the country.

Most of the gasoline consumed in California is refined within the state due to lack of petroleum infrastructure connections. California is geographically isolated from other U.S. refining centers because no pipelines supply California from across the Rocky Mountains and only a limited number of pipelines deliver to the West Coast from the Gulf Coast. Of the refineries outside of California with physical access to the state’s gasoline markets, only a few can meet California’s stringent fuel blending requirements.

California also imports gasoline from other countries, such as India and South Korea, to meet its fuel supply needs. Other countries produce California-specification gasoline, but high shipping costs usually limit imports to periods of refinery outages or the summer driving season.

In addition, West Coast refineries have historically maintained lower inventory levels compared with the U.S. average, and California refineries have been closing, with more closures on the horizon. All of these supply chain issues mean that California gasoline prices are more volatile and subject to large spikes, especially if any of the limited number of refineries go offline for maintenance or have an unexpected outage.

Principal contributors: Anne Miranda, Tara Bennett-Chirico

Tags: map, California, states, prices, gasoline, liquid fuels

US EIA

The only area in which California prices are lower than the national average is in distribution & marketing. I have to assume that this is due to the fact that California has no Buc-ees stores.

But… Newsom will fix this problem by getting rid of gasoline powered automobiles…

California Just Banned Gas-Powered Cars. Here’s Everything You Need to Know

What about hybrids? Can I still buy a used gas-powered car? An FAQ to navigating the EV future.

By Dan Gearino

September 1, 2022

While many of us were on vacation last week, the transition to electric vehicles took a monumental leap.

On Aug. 25, California regulators adopted rules that would ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars and light trucks by 2035.

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Inside Climate News

Newsom’s answer seems to be to use less gasoline by using more electricity…

California already has the second highest electricity price in the nation…

And that price is already expected to rise faster than the national average…

Regions with already high electricity prices may see larger increases

Although we expect the nominal U.S. average electricity price to increase by 13% from 2022 to 2025, our forecasts for retail electricity price increases differ across the country. Residential electricity prices in the Pacific, Middle Atlantic, and New England census divisions—regions where consumers already pay much more per kilowatthour for electricity—could increase more than the national average. By comparison, residential electricity prices in areas with relatively low electricity prices may not increase as much.

US EIA

Unsurprisingly, the CEO of PG&E says that increased electricity demand will actually lower prices…

PG&E CEO: Optimistic About California’s Clean Energy Future

April 30, 2025

Closing out this year’s keynote addresses, Patti Poppe, CEO of Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) delivered a message of optimism about California’s clean energy transition, highlighting real progress in infrastructure, safety, and innovation. Framed by the urgency of climate change and the growing threat of wildfires, the speaker laid out a clear case for why decarbonizing the state’s energy and transportation systems is both possible and economically viable.

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A central focus was the “duck curve,” which shows excess solar generation during the day and steep evening demand peaks. Fleet electrification — especially for vehicles with predictable usage patterns like school buses — presents a perfect solution.

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According to Poppe, contrary to popular belief, increased electrification could actually lower energy costs, with grid usage at only about 55% of its capacity. With the increasing energy demand from electric vehicles and data centers, Poppe pointed out that fixed costs can be spread across more usage, lowering the cost per unit of electricity for everyone.

“It’s like splitting a pizza,” she explained. “Five people pay $10 each. Ten people? Just $5.”

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ACT News

Does a pizza really cost $50 in California? However, this does capture socialist logic in a nutshell. Instead of making a bigger pizza, just cut it up into smaller slices. The obvious solution to the “duck curve” is for government to create more electricity demand during the periods of excess solar generation…

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Gavin Newsom Named U-Haul Salesperson Of The Year

U.S.·Sep 15, 2021 · BabylonBee.com

SACRAMENTO, CA – U-Haul has named Governor Gavin Newsom its Salesperson of the Year for the third year in a row after a record-setting sales quarter. 

“We are astounded by the growth we’ve seen in California,” said U-Haul’s Western Regional Director Fennick Buggstein. “Thanks to Gavin Newsom, literally every middle-class family has moved out of the state! It’s been impossible to keep up with demand! Also, most of our workers left the state too, which kind of stinks.” 

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The Babylon Bee