Energy

Energy and utility watchdog coverage — gas prices, oil-industry profits, utility rates, and clean-energy accountability.

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.

Consumer Group Upset At CPUC Snub

December 18, 2015 · Mark Reback

<div class="story-body"> A dispute is turning testy between a Santa Monica nonprofit and the California Public Utilities Commission over intervenor compensation — the money paid to advocates for expert testimony and other evidence that contributes to regulatory decisions. Consumer Watchdog, the decades-old organization founded by insurance-reform pioneer Harvey Rosenfield, is accusing utility regulators of unfairly rejecting its application to intervene in a power-charging station proceeding from Pacific Gas & Electric.

Critics Say Gov. Brown Isn’t Delivering on Reform at Troubled CPUC

December 17, 2015 · Mark Reback

Last December, Gov. Jerry Brown <a href="http://www.gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18816" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appointed</a> a longtime adviser, Michael Picker, to head the California Public Utilities Commission.

Santa Monica Consumer Group Says California Drivers Paid $10 Billion More Than Other States

December 17, 2015 · Mark Reback

December 17, 2015 -- Just how much more did Californian drivers allegedly overpay for their gas in 2015? Try $10 billion, according to Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog. Speaking at a meeting Wednesday of a special state advisory panel on the oil industry in Sacramento on Wednesday, Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court said evidence shows oil refiners used “back-door trades and inside information about competitor pricing to keep gas prices artificially high.”

Hearing Pits Consumer Watchdog Against Petroleum Association

December 16, 2015 · Mark Reback

<a href="http://www.kgoradio.com/2015/12/16/hearing-pits-consumer-watchdog-against-petroleum-association/">Click here to listen to the audio</a> of this radio broadcast segment. (KGO) – The California Energy Commission is holding a hearing today to address the issue of why gas prices are usually higher here in California. Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court is charging the oil companies with gouging us at the pump. “California oil refiners have made an extra 10 billion dollars on our gasoline in the state in 2015,” Court said.

Refiners Pin High Gas Prices On State Rules, Plant Closure; Industry Group Rebuffs claims That It is Manipulating Fuel Costs In California

December 16, 2015 · Mark Reback

California's stubbornly high gasoline prices resulted from state regulations, trouble with imports and an outage at a major refinery, the oil refining industry told regulators Wednesday. Speaking to the state Petroleum Market Advisory Committee for the first time since expensive California gasoline brought huge profits to oil refineries this year, the Western States Petroleum Assn. said the unusual gap between the state's average price for a gallon of regular gas and the national average involved matters out of the oil refinery industry's control.