Reports

Betting Against the House: How California’s Leaders Could Gamble Away Our Energy Future On A Western Power Trading Casino

June 17, 2018  ·  Evan Thomas King

1997. Today, Cavanagh is chief “green” booster of a Western power trading market, which brings back a deregulation-era law that led to California’s energy crisis.

The Price of Pickel: The LADWP’s Ratepayer Watchdog Comes With A $7 Billion Price Tag

March 13, 2018  ·  Liza Tucker

THE PRICE OF PICKEL LADWP’s Ratepayer Watchdog is Costing Ratepayers Nearly $7 Billion B L T The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is the largest, most powerful municipal utility in the country. For its first 110 years, the LADWP had virtually no…

How Green Is Jerry Brown?

February 15, 2017  ·  Liza Tucker

This review fact-checks the perception of Jerry Brown as an environmentalist against his actions since taking office as Governor in 2011 to answer the question: “How Green Is Brown?” On a continuum of “Green” to “Murky” to “Dirty,” the review concludes that Brown’s…

Brown’s Dirty Hands

August 1, 2016  ·  Liza Tucker

consumerwatchdog.org BROWN’S DIRTY HANDS 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Governor Jerry Brown paints himself a foe of climate change. But an exhaustive review of company donations, publicly released emails and documents at PUCPapers.org court filings, and media reports show that…

Against The Tide: How Missing Tankers Pumped Up Gas Prices and Refiner Profits

February 6, 2016  ·  Cody Rosenfield

Consumer Watchdog analyzed data from the shipping market and state sources to study the impact of gasoline imports and exports on gas prices in California during the first nine months of 2015, when gas prices were consistently $1 higher in the state than the nationwide…

Keystone XL: Oil Industry Cash Machine

December 6, 2015  ·  Judy Dugan

“[I]t is a strategic imperative, it is in Alberta’s interest, in Canada’s interest, that we get access to tidewater... to diversify away from the single continental market and be part of the global market.”

Oil Slicked: How Refiners Spend Millions to Protect Billions in Record Profits.

November 10, 2015  ·  Liza Tucker

Californians have paid $7.5 billion more than they should have for their gasoline since California’s record gasoline price spike began in February of 2015, according to a Consumer Watchdog analysis of state and federal data. That amounts to $314 per California driver.…

Golden State Gouge: The Summer of Record Refining Profits

August 5, 2015  ·  Liza Tucker

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In the six months since California’s record gasoline price spike began in February, Californians have paid $4.8 billion more than the rest of the country for regular gasoline at the pump, according to a Consumer Watchdog analysis of state and federal…

Refining Profits: How Californians Get Fleeced at the Pump

May 5, 2015  ·  Cody Rosenfield

Consumer Watchdog’s previous report, “Price Spiked”, examined why and how Californians paid substantially more for gasoline than their fellow Americans over the last decade, and the causes of gasoline price spikes in the state. (Read the report at: hJp://…

Price Spiked: How Oil Refiners Gouge Californians on their Gasoline and What it Costs

February 10, 2015  ·  Cody Rosenfield

Californians have perennially experienced steep gasoline price spikes since 1999 when California’s Attorney General formed a Gasoline Pricing Taskforce that identified market consolidation and limited inventories as causes of prices spikes. Consumer Watchdog’s…

Pump Jacking California’s Climate Protection: The Threat Of Oil Industry Influence & Market Manipulation

December 15, 2014  ·  Liza Tucker

Internal documents obtained from the oil industry’s lobbying arm, the Western States Petroleum Associa8on, show that the companies have made stopping California’s landmark climate change laws their top priority and will stop at nothing to achieve their ends. This…

Inside Job: How Boeing Fixers Captured Regulators And Derailed A Nuclear And Chemical Cleanup in LA’s Backyard

June 4, 2014  ·  Liza Tucker

This report is based on documents obtained via the Public Records Act, information provided by current and former insiders, community members, environmentalists and legislative staffers (some of whom asked to remain anonymous to protect their current positions), media…