Energy

Consumer Watchdog Warns Calif. Drivers Of Upcoming Gas Price Spike

February 25, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p><strong>LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com)</strong> — Gas prices in California are predicted to climb due to a switch to summer blend, according to consumer advocates.</p> <p>Consumer Watchdog says prices will spike 30 cents by Friday, explaining that the Los Angeles wholesale market jumped 52 cents per gallon because of the switch.</p>

Gas Price Gouging Indications Grow Stronger

February 22, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<div> <p>As corporate profit reports rolled in this winter from the gasoline refining industry, the case for gas price gouging grew steadily stronger.</p> <p>Start with the profits of the largest refiners operating in California. Then proceed to strange activities by an oil tanker, Exxon Mobil’s SR American Progress. Close with hard figures provided by the state Energy Commission’s senior fuels specialist during a mid-February hearing. Look also at the almost 80-cent price differential between gasoline here and the average price everywhere else in the continental U.S.</p>

Gas Falls Under $2 In State

February 11, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<div> <p>California drivers are finally cheering instead of hissing the price of gas, as dozens of Northern California stations are selling fuel for under $2 a gallon -- the first time prices have dropped this low in eight years.</p> </div> <div> <p>"It's about time," Ivan Rodriguez, of San Jose, said, smiling, as he lined up at the Gas & Shop at 1590 McKee Road to fill his beige Ford Focus at $1.97 per gallon on Wednesday. Cars were three deep waiting for open pumps.</p> </div> <div> <p>"Right now," a harried cashier said, "we're busy."</p>

Consumer Watchdog: Mystery Tanker Helped Drive Up Gas Prices in CA

February 10, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>A consumer advocate says California paid $10 billion dollars more for gas than the rest of the country partly because of the movements of a “mystery tanker.” Consumer Watchdog’s Jamie Court says his organization tracked the Exxon oil tanker “American Progress” along with other ships and made didn’t like what they found.</p>

Mysterious Ship Helped Keep California Gas Prices High, Consumer Advocate Says

February 9, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>There's an unusual new entry to the long list of reasons why Californians spent the last year paying significantly more for gasoline than other U.S. drivers: a mystery ship.</p> <p>The explosion at Exxon Mobil's huge Torrance refinery a year ago undoubtedly was a major factor contributing to high gasoline prices in California, especially in the Los Angeles area, fuel experts have said.</p>

Why A Consumer Group Thinks Oil Companies Worked Together To Inflate Gas Prices

February 9, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-11513" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/images_gaspricescavsusa.jpg" style="width: 300px; height: 264px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px; float: right;" width="455" height="400" />Collusion among California oil refiners “artificially inflated” pump prices in a move that enabled oil companies to make a “killing” in the wake of an <a href="http://www.dailybreeze.com/general-news/20160113/feds-botched-safety-reviews-contributed-to-exxonmobil-refinery-explosion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explosion last winter at ExxonMobil’s Torrance refinery,</a> nonprofit group Consumer Watchdog al

Did Exxon Hide Oil Tanker Overseas to Drive Up Gas Prices?

February 9, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p><script type="text/javascript" charset="UTF-8" src="http://www.nbcsandiego.com/portableplayer/?cmsID=368251221&videoID=MyVO4Ea52joo&origin=nbcsandiego.com&sec=news&subsec=local&width=600&height=360"></script></p> <p><strong>Keeping supply low and driving up prices</strong></p> <p>California drivers pay more to fill their gas tank than drivers across the country, but Consumer Watchdog says that's because big oil companies manipulate the fuel supply.</p>

Experts Tell Panel Why Gas Is So Expensive In California

February 8, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p><span class="dateline">SACRAMENTO, CA -- </span>Gouging by oil companies could be one reason California drivers pay about 76 cents more for a gallon of regular gas than motorists elsewhere in the nation, a state government panel was told Monday.</p> <div class="clearfix" id="story-target"> <div id="content-body-16194926-59092778"> <p>Fuel experts and consumer advocates also told the Petroleum Market Advisory Committee that a high state gas tax and more rigorous regulations have kept prices relatively high as oil prices have plunged across the nation in recent months.</p>

Why Are You Paying $.77 More For A Gallon Of Gas?

February 8, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<div class="article-content transcript"> <p>The California Petroleum Market Advisory Commission heard testimony from oil company and consumer groups today explaining why we're paying 77 cents-per-gallon more for gas than the rest of the country.<br /> <br /> Jamie Court is with group Consumer Watchdog. He says oil companies have used an outage at an Exxon refinery in Southern California as an excuse to keep prices high.<br /> <br />

Claim: Refiners Rigged Crude Supplies To Inflate Gas Prices

February 8, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p style="text-indent:9px; padding-bottom:6px;">California's largest oil refiners calibrated imports and exports of gasoline to artificially inflate gasoline prices during the first nine months of 2015, when gas prices were consistently $1 per gallon higher in California than the nationwide average, claims a Santa Monica-based consumers group.</p> <p style="text-indent:9px; padding-bottom:6px;">In a report it submitted Monday to the California Energy Commission's Petroleum Market Advisory Committee, Consumer Watchdog claims there was deliberate market manipulation.</p>

Oil Firms Kept State’s Gas Supply Tight To Hike Price, Group Says

February 8, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>A consumer group on Monday accused America’s two largest oil companies — Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. — of deliberately starving California’s gasoline market of supplies last year in a bid to push up prices.</p> <p>And according to Consumer Watchdog, the effort worked.</p> <p>Several times last year, gasoline in California cost $1 more per gallon than it did in the rest of the United States. Although California typically has some of America’s priciest gas, the difference is usually closer to 30 or 35 cents.</p>

Taxes, Air Quality, Production Issues Cause Pain At The Pump

February 8, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p><strong>A variety of factors have conspired to boost California gas prices</strong></p> <p>California motorists have long complained about high prices at the pump, but few drivers are aware of all the factors that push gasoline prices so high.</p>