“The California Energy Commission needs to wrap up its study and, as necessary, offer a conclusion that is politically incorrect but economically correct. Little doubt, California energy policy needs a dose of reality-and about face.”
Earlier this month, a piece by CBS Sacramento reporters Marlee Ginter, “Findings from California gas price watchdog after first year on job, industry responds,” interviewed Tai Milder, Director of the California Energy Commission’s Petroleum Market Oversight division. The “nation’s first gas price watchdog” found a dollar per gallon of unexplained price premium (“surcharge”) in the state. In his words:
The first thing I think it’s really important for people to understand is this surcharge adjusts for taxes and fees. So once you compare California’s taxes to other state’s taxes and you adjust for that, there’s still an unexplained markup and that is the oil industry markup. We are still digging into the data to determine [where that money is going] and why it’s occurring, but I think California drivers are rightly frustrated that they’re paying more to the oil industry.
Funny that after a year the study is indeterminate and floundering. At LinkedIn, Matt Mastro, operations engineering manager of the California Resources Corporation, offered this rebuttal:
Found this article last week mentioning the findings from the California Energy Commission on why state gas prices are so expensive. After reading the article (and watching the video), I was blown away by the findings… Nothing.
Absolutely nothing tangible on why California has high gas prices and just several paragraphs of poor energy policy propaganda. The energy czar himself is even quoted, “I have absolute confidence that if we identify what the problems are…” Meaning after a year on the job, the California Energy Commission still has no idea.
What is even more entertaining about this article, is the reporter is apparently an Emmy Award-winning investigative journalist. After this “investigation” turned up such ground breaking results, I will give her a few points to investigate further…
· The fact that there has not been a new oil refinery built in CA since 1979
· The fact that the state has not issued new drilling permits in it’s most prolific oil county in years
· The fact that CA is an energy island, reliant on foreign oil more and more each year
· The fact that CA has the highest demand for oil in the country and a supply that is continuing to be driven down by poor state policy
· The fact that CA requires special blends of gasoline and residents pay the highest amount of taxes on gas in the country
On top of that, CA taxpayers fund the California Energy Commission to come up with no answers and continue their wild goose chase on why prices spike on a globally traded commodity. With some actual facts from my investigation, where can I pick up my Emmy?
Check out the article yourself and please let me know if I missed the part about any actual findings.
Comments
Comments followed, including several of note:
Thomas Darling: “Texaco Refinery on Rosedale is shut down courtesy of the State of California. California Republicans remained silent on getting it opened up. 75,000 BBLS/day off the market. Then there is the ballot box!”
Herman Schultz: “Just the fact that California imports oil means they pay more for the oil at the refinery as transportation costs are higher than domestically produced oil. And, imported oil generally has a higher environmental ’footprint’; especially if transported via tanker as those spew out lots of greenhouse gases.
So, using locally produced oil means lower transport costs and fewer greenhouse gas emissions; seemingly worthy goals for the study and they didn’t identify these?”
Taylor White: “The crazy thing is we are playing a net negative game on Carbon emissions because we produce oil cleaner than anywhere in the world. So, we sacrifice clean production here for environmentally unclean production elsewhere because we have to import what the state won’t let us produce.”
Gregory Gordon: “Tai Milder must be utterly shocked & dumbfounded to realize that the sinister, unexplained “oil industry markup” on gas prices ends abruptly at the state border! Perhaps oil companies are only interested in making huge profits within the state of California? (Or could there be other forces at work here? 🤔)”
Final Comment
Periodic investigations by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission regarding gasoline prices have resulted in supply-and-demand explanations with government policy included. The California Energy Commission needs to wrap up its study and, as necessary, offer a conclusion that is politically incorrect but economically correct. Little doubt, California energy policy needs a dose of reality—and an about-face.
One other note: little wonder that Chevron left California for Houston, still the center of energy exceptionalism despite the false hyperbole of “energy transition.” Producers of real value can vote with their feet, and California should take the hint.
Excellent headline:
“California Investigates Itself”
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California is, of course, completely bonkers. Any state that produces Pelosi, Newsome, Governor Moonbeam, Boxer, Streisand, Sarandon and similar zanies is beyond help.