Latest Energy Releases

By Ashley Zavala SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California lawmakers on Saturday are set to debate a bunch of proposals that attempt to address the cost of gas and electricity in the state while facing pushback from nearly every side of the issue.  In a year in which Democratic legislative leaders vowed to...

BY ALEJANDRO LAZO AND  JEANNE KUANG Gov. Gavin Newsom closed out the legislative year with one of the most sweeping overhauls of California’s energy and climate policies in decades — a package that could give him a presidential debate-stage talking point on rising energy costs as the Democratic Party shifts its focus to...

Governor Newsom, McGuire, and Rivas celebrated “Landmark Clean Energy, Climate and Affordability Solutions” .. It’s a load of horse poop. 

Sacramento, CA  -- Eleventh-hour California legislation creating a regional grid eliminates all the guardrails added by the Senate and opens California consumers to price gouging, having to pay for coal power and federal preemption of California’s public health, environmental and cost containment laws. AB 825 (Petrie-Norris, Rivas, Becker) was only put in print at 5:43 AM this morning, so it cannot be heard by the legislature until Saturday...

By Rob Nikolewski https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/09/10/last-minute-bill-aimed-at-boosting-california-oil-production-introduced/ Legislation aimed at boosting in-state oil production is one of a slew of energy-related bills introduced Wednesday, as lawmakers in Sacramento race to pass legislation before the 2025 session comes to what figures to be a frantic conclusion. The session for both the chambers of the Legislature is...

John Burton's death is reminder to us all that you can be principled and thrive in politics.John had the “Rage for Justice”

Los Angeles, CA—Two oil and gas lobbyists are refusing to have included into two carbon pipeline bills legislative language creating a safe buffer zone between communities and these pipelines, Consumer Watchdog has learned. No language on an adequate buffer zone has been added to the bills, according to environmental...

Sacramento, CA --  Consumer Watchdog warned California legislative leaders that ignoring legislative rules and racing through a utility-backed regional electricity deregulation plan in the last ten days of legislative session that benefits donors to Prop 50 could imperil passage of the redistricting initiative. “What will it say about the abuse of power...

Sacramento, CA – The Newsom Administration’s California Energy Commission voted to freeze for five years deliberations on a gasoline price gouging penalty promised by Governor Newsom when he signed a special session reform in 2023.    Newsom was clear in 2023 on his position: “We are talking about a penalty for gouging people....

Sacramento, CA -- Consumer and environmental groups have written California legislative leaders taking issue with Governor Newsom’s latest claim that a Western grid is “our best shot a lowering energy costs.” The groups warn about a deal between the Governor and the utilities to prioritize the utility-backed grid proposal and a...

Sacramento, CA – Consumer Watchdog wrote Governor Newsom and the Vice Chair of the California Energy Commission (CEC) Siva Gunda today to remind them of their previous statements about the need for a public process to determine a gasoline price gouging penalty.  The CEC is voting on Friday to table the...

Los Angeles, CA -- As lawmakers take up Cap-and-Trade for extension to 2045, they should reject any lobbyist pressure to include Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in Cap-and-Trade, the state’s central greenhouse gas reduction program that caps emissions and mandates companies trade pollution allowances, Consumer Watchdog told legislative leaders today.  “Some...

Sacramento, CA—Consumer Watchdog released a short “Consumer Alert”  white-board video warning about the dangers of a last-minute push by Governor Newsom and the legislature to rewrite California’s electricity rules and remove key Enron-era protections against price gouging.   Watch the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbYvfsx3lMY The 2 minute video explains through the use of a white board...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbYvfsx3lMY

Sacramento, CA - California oil refiners’ profits per gallon grew in May to top $1 per gallon, according to new data posted by the California Energy Commission (CEC).  The CEC reported oil refiners gross margins growing from 43 cents per gallon in January to $1.01 per gallon in May and the retail margin,...