Energy

Claim: Refiners Rigged Crude Supplies To Inflate Gas Prices

February 8, 2016 · Mark Reback

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. In a report it submitted Monday to the California Energy Commission's Petroleum Market Advisory Committee, Consumer Watchdog claims there was deliberate market manipulation.

Oil Firms Kept Stateâ€™s Gas Supply Tight To Hike Price, Group Says

February 8, 2016 · Mark Reback

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. And according to Consumer Watchdog, the effort worked. 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.

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

February 8, 2016 · Mark Reback

A variety of factors have conspired to boost California gas prices 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.

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...

How Big Oil Spent $10 Million To Defeat California Climate Change Legislation

February 5, 2016 · Mark Reback

The oil industry targeted business-friendly Democrats in the legislature to kill parts of a bill mandating a 50% reduction in gasoline use in the state by 2030

L.A. County Files Criminal Charges Over Porter Ranch Gas Leak

February 3, 2016 · Mark Reback

Prosecutor accuses Southern California Gas Co. of failing to quickly report release of noxious fumes Southern California Gas Co. on Tuesday was charged with failing to immediately notify state authorities about the natural gas leak in Aliso Canyon. L.A. County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey filed four misdemeanor criminal charges against the company, accusing it of releasing air contaminants and neglecting to report the release of hazardous materials until three days after the leak began Oct. 23.

Ramp-Up To Inquiry On Alison Canyon Gas Leak

January 30, 2016 · Mark Reback

Consumer Watchdog to be Sempra Energy's unwanted hound from hell San Diego attorneys Mike Aguirre and Maria Severson have joined with Santa Monica–based Consumer Watchdog to demand that Southern California Gas, a subsidiary of San Diego's Sempra Energy, be completely open with the public on matters related to the gas leak at the Aliso Canyon Underground Storage Facility. The leak has caused illnesses and thousands of people in nearby Porter Ranch to move elsewhere (at least temporarily).

California Considers Tighter Lobbying Rules As 2016 Election Nears

January 21, 2016 · Mark Reback

California's elections watchdog is poised to force groups that hire lobbyists to reveal more about hundreds of millions of dollars spent to sway state lawmakers on climate change, education and other issues. In 2015, spending on lobbyists in the most populous U.S. state topped $243 million - nearly as much as the payroll for all of California's lawmakers combined.

Amount Of Lobbying Done In The Shadows Is Growing, California Ethics Officials Agree

January 17, 2016 · Mark Reback

The dire warning arrived in a mailer to thousands of state voters from a group called the California Drivers Alliance. "Gasoline restrictions ... will hurt families in LA," the geographically targeted mailer warned, alerting the recipient that legislation being debated in Sacramento would "take away our ability to drive to work in our own cars."

DWP May Pay Millions To Overbilled Customers

December 23, 2015 · Mark Reback

Argument Erupts Between Lawyer And Activist On Same Side Of DWP Lawsuit

December 22, 2015 · Mark Reback

Inside the courtroom, a judge's review on Monday of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's still-evolving settlement of a class-action lawsuit over a malfunctioning billing system was a mostly somnolent affair. The real drama was outdoors, where a press conference on the courthouse steps devolved into a shouting match between two men ostensibly on the same side of the case. One of the attorneys representing utility customers and a consumer advocate traded a colorful slew of insults as television news cameras rolled.

Average U.S. Gasoline Price Falls Below $2 For First Time Snce 2009, But Not So For L.A. Area

December 21, 2015 · Mark Reback

Refinery problems hit California again as the nationwide average falls to $1.99 a gallon The nationwide average for a gallon of regular gasoline fell below $2 on Monday for the first time since March 2009 — but L.A. prices are nowhere near that milestone and probably are as low as they are going to get.