SAN FRANCISCO – The average price for a gallon of gas in California is roughly 24 cents more than a month ago, with prices up to almost $5 a gallon, once again some of the highest in the U.S.
The steadily increasing cost of gas in the state puts it at an average of $4.57 and a high of $4.90, compared to $3.33 nationally, according to GasBuddy.com. It’s yet another reminder why California lawmakers should approve Gov. Gavin Newsom’s call for legislation imposing a windfall profit penalty on Big Oil – to make it pay for its price gouging.
Patrick De Haan, who leads oil and gas analysis at GasBuddy – a website that promotes gas price savings – told Sacramento’s ABC10 drivers shouldn’t expect to see prices drop below $4 a gallon before the fall, at the earliest. He said the higher prices can be partly attributed to areas of California shifting from the winter blend of gas to the more expensive summer blend.
But that still doesn’t answer the fundamental question of why gas prices in the state are far higher than in other areas of the country, including neighboring states such as Arizona and Oregon. California gas prices have long been exorbitantly high, no matter what excuse Big Oil offers.
“Big oil companies in California are ripping people off, and nothing has been done about it – until now,” said Environmental Working Group President and Bay Area resident Ken Cook. “Gov. Newsom and lawmakers are standing up against the state’s powerful fossil fuel industry. We fervently hope they will hold these greedy oil companies accountable for these high gas prices, which are punishing working families already struggling with the rising cost of living.”
State lawmakers are in a special session to consider Newsom’s windfall tax proposal and will hold their first hearing on it February 22. The plan, if enacted, would penalize the state’s five big oil refiners over the outrageous windfall profits the companies made last year. During certain times in 2022, the sky-high gas prices topped $8 a gallon.
EWG and other consumer advocates are pushing the legislature to pass Newsom’s proposal, introduced as legislation in December. If enacted, the measure would empower the California Energy Commission to penalize oil refiners that exceed the profit gap limit. Lawmakers could issue refunds to California families by tapping a special fund created by these penalties.
“The legislature must come to the aid of consumers by passing Gov. Newsom’s proposal as soon as possible in order to put the brakes on these outrageous windfall profits,” said Bill Allayaud, EWG’s director of government affairs in Sacramento. “Big Oil let prices drift down for a few weeks and are now letting them jet up again for no apparent reason, or at least for no reason that they are willing to appear before a state agency or the legislature and explain.”
Four of the state’s five oil refiners – Chevron, Phillips66, Valero and Marathon Petroleum – recently released fourth-quarter earnings reports showing that together they made more than $72 billion in windfall profits in 2022, nearly triple what they made in 2021. The fifth California refiner, PBF Energy, is expected to release its final 2022 earnings report today.
For more on the issue of California’s oil and gas industries’ efforts to rip off working families in the state, visit EWG's campaign to end Big Oil's price gouging or Consumer Watchdog.
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The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action
