Wildfire Survivors, Consumer Groups, Insurers, Public Entities Oppose Limits on Survivors’ Rights At Hearings In CA Capitol On CEA SB 254 Report

Oil Permits Surge In First Q 2026 With Majority For Dangerous Extraction Techniques; Watchdogs Warn New State Drilling Law Unfair

Watchdog Warns of Continued Gasoline Price Spikes Without Promised Energy Commission Rules

Energy

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

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.

Keystone XL: Oil Industry Cash Machine

December 6, 2015 · Judy Dugan

Consumer Watchdog investigated the impact of the Keystone XL Pipeline on gasoline prices and consumers. is analysis by Judy Dugan and Tim Hamilton utilized industry...

L.A. Motorists Are Paying 75 Cents More Than U.S. Average For A Gallon Of Gas

December 2, 2015 · Mark Reback

Much of the nation is paying $2 or less for a gallon of regular gasoline for the first time since spring 2009. But in California, drivers are shelling out significantly more — and the price gap has gotten wider in recent weeks. The Los Angeles area has been hit particularly hard. L.A. motorists are paying an average price that is 75 cents a gallon more than the national average, compared with a 30-cent difference a year earlier. Fuel experts attribute the increased disparity largely to refinery outages.

Why Rooftop Solar Advocates Are Upset About California’s Clean-Energy Law

November 29, 2015 · Mark Reback

California's aggressive push to increase renewable energy production comes with a catch for people with solar panels on the roof: You don't count. If a home or business has a rooftop solar system, most of the wattage isn't included in the ambitious requirement to generate half of the state's electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind by 2030, part of legislation signed in October by Gov. Jerry Brown.