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Energy

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

Energy Price Manipulation Found On Two Fronts

November 29, 2012 · Daniel Palay

Anyone who thought manipulation of California energy prices ended with the criminal penalties assessed against executives of companies like Enron and Williams Energy after the state's 2000-2001 electricity crunch turns out to have been hopelessly naive.

Senators Add Fire to Scandal Over Phony California Fuel Crisis

November 27, 2012 · Liza Tucker

<img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2046" alt="" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/oilrefinery.png" style="width: 300px; height: 214px; float: right;" width="300" height="214" />Today, senators from California, Washington and Oregon joined our call to investigate refineries, asking the Department of Justice to comb through California refineries one by one to see whether market manipulation or false reporting by oil refineries had something to do with record $5 dollar a gallon prices at some California gas stations last month and near record prices earlier in the year.

Gas-Price Increases Questioned

November 18, 2012 · Mark Reback

A new report calls into question gasoline price spikes in California this year, arguing costs outpaced the traditional supply-and-demand model and insinuating market manipulation on the part of oil refineries.

Consumer Advocates Say Refineries May Have Falsified Information

November 17, 2012 · Jamie Court

Consumer Watchdog, saying that refineries operating in the state may have falsified information to help boost gasoline prices, wants the California attorney general to launch a criminal investigation. The advocacy group made its request in a letter to state Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris. “It appears that California’s oil refineries falsified public information to drive up the price of gasoline," Consumer Watchdog’s president, Jamie Court, and energy project director, Liza Tucker, said in the letter.

Export, Baby, Export: And Keep Gas Prices Up

November 9, 2012 · Liza Tucker

<img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2526" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/images_keystonepipeline.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 127px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px; float: right; " width="639" height="407" />As gas prices spiked in California last month to blow past even Hawaii’s highest-in-the-nation, the state’s refineries were exporting gas. That’s right, exporting, just like the rest of the nation’s refineries. According to the Energy Department, we are now net exporters of fuel for the first time since 1949.

U.S. Fuel Exports Grow To Historic Levels

November 7, 2012 · Mark Reback

<img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-9912" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/images_950_0.jpg" style="width: 187px; height: 353px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px; float: right;" width="187" height="353" />If you're wondering what happened to cheap U.S. fuel, look to Mexico, Canada and even OPEC member Venezuela. U.S. refiners are selling diesel and gasoline to those and other countries at historically high levels, making the nation a net exporter of fuel for the first time since 1949, according to the Energy Department.

Hyundai, Kia Reduced MPG Ratings May Hinder Resale

November 5, 2012 · Mark Reback

About a third of the Hyundai and Kia vehicles sold in the U.S. in the past three years could face reduced resale values, some more than others. The admission that sister auto brands Hyundai and Kia inflated gas-mileage figures could lower resale values on affected models, experts said Monday.

Going Rogue in the Golden State: Regulating Chevron

November 1, 2012 · Liza Tucker

<img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2510" alt="" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/la-oe-court-california-gas-prices-20121012-001.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 166px; float: right;" width="600" height="399" />If there’s one industry that has free rein in California, it’s the refinery business. California doesn’t regulate supplies of gasoline, so refineries here only keep around ten days on hand, instead of the more than three week supply most refineries do in other states. We’ve only got 14 refineries here making gasoline, down by half from a few decades ago.

California Gasoline Consumers Hurt By Few Suppliers, Outages

October 22, 2012 · Mark Reback

For nearly two decades, Santosh Arya has pumped some of the San Diego area's cheapest gas at his three Homeland Petroleum stations. But his streak ended early this month, when wholesale prices started rising sharply, then shot up 40 cents a gallon overnight. To break even, Arya calculated he would have to sell a gallon of regular at $5.10 — almost a buck higher than at nearby Shell and 76 stations. Instead, he shut down and waited for prices to drop.

Consumer Group Wants Calif. AG Harris To Block $2.5 Billion Gas Deal

October 18, 2012 · Mark Reback

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (Legal Newsline) – Consumer Watchdog urged California Attorney General Kamala Harris on Wednesday to block a $2.5 billion offer by Tesoro to acquire Arco gas stations and BP’s refinery in Carson.

Consumer Advocates Do Not Want Carson Refinery Sold

October 15, 2012 · Mark Reback

California consumer advocates are piping up about a Texas company's plan to buy a major fuel refinery in Carson, California. San Antonio-based Tesoro is hoping to buy the Carson refinery and hundreds of retail gas stations from British Petroleum. The multibillion-dollar sale would transfer one of the state's largest refineries and Arco gas stations from BP to Tesoro.

Will Gas Prices Continue To Keep Californians Over A Barrel?

October 14, 2012 · Jamie Court

<img class=" size-full wp-image-2466" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/jamiepic-new1.jpg" style="width: 133px; height: 200px; " width="133" height="200" />Californians finally saw $5 per gallon at their pumps last week. Unfortunately, it's not likely to be the last time.