California Gas Prices

http://www.usatoday.com/story/mon...s/1620615/

Quote : Gov. Jerry Brown moved Sunday to try to stem the price spiral by ordering state regulators to allow cheaper, easier-to-produce "winter blend" gasoline to be sold in the state ahead of the normal Oct. 31 switch-over date. The California Air Resources Board, which requires a cleaner blend in summer months to reduce air pollution, issued a statement. "This action is necessary to address the extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstance," the statement said. It said the move was "necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety or general welfare." Gas prices in California rose again overnight to set a record statewide average of $4.668 a gallon for regular, up more than 3 cents from Sunday's price, which was also a record, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report. The price is 50 cents a gallon higher than one month ago and well beyond the $3.803 price per gallon of one year ago.

now most of the country moves to winter blend early/mid Sept and the government regulates that. Good old California decided to wait till the end of Oct and now they get hammered by prices. So now they want to use the cheap stuff? They decided to over-regulate and now they're idea to lower price is to ease up on their own regulations?

Might have something to do with the fact that a large fraction of gas is used in SoCal where it is warmer longer and has the worst pollution problems.

Quote from DJPlayer : They decided to over-regulate and now they're idea to lower price is to ease up on their own regulations?

My friend in PA was dusting off her winter clothes last week. Meanwhile, it was 100 at the beach here in CA.

Quote from 124nic8 : Might have something to do with the fact that a large fraction of gas is used in SoCal where it is warmer longer and has the worst pollution problems.

Right. Also it's not that they decided out of the blue that the summer blend should be more expensive all of a sudden. Part of the reason was the fire at a Chevron refinery on October 1st and a power outage Exxon Mobil's facility.


Anyway according to Reuters it says Brown has allowed the switch to winder-blend earlier..
http://www.reuters.com/article/20...mesticNews

We have such strict standards because we care about our air quality. LA used to be terrible that people wouldn't even go outside on really smoggy days..
http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal...31321.html

..stuff like cleaner burning gas has helped that over time and made LA much better.

With 33 million people and how we don't have a good statewide transportation system (my commute daily is almost 50 miles), you have to regulate air quality.

Otherwise you end up like Beijing where you sometimes don't see the sun...

Quote from gunnerusa : My friend in PA was dusting off her winter clothes last week. Meanwhile, it was 100 at the beach here in CA.

true story.. It was freaking cold today (or at least felt like it). Today's high was in the 50's. Just today I moved all summer clothes to back of the closet. But from what I can see it looks like Northern CA is just touching the 60's.

Should say southern CA (and other warm areas) always use more expensive gas because of the consistent warm temperatures year round?

Quote from dzap : ..stuff like cleaner burning gas has helped that over time and made LA much better. With 33 million people and how we don't have a good statewide transportation system (my commute daily is almost 50 miles), you have to regulate air quality. Otherwise you end up like Beijing where you sometimes don't see the sun...

Seriously, and not to mention apparently the OP already missed this being discussed.

Apparently the search function is too hard for some people to use (or it just sucks in general which I would agree with), but hey as long as they get to bitch about millions of kids not having asthma... I love how non-Californians are meteorologists and understand our weather patterns. I mean, if it's cold, rainy, and snowy where they live is must suck everywhere else!

http://slickdeals.net/forums/show...stcount=46

$6 gas + Elections in a few weeks = a good thing

Clearly this is a conspiracy by Gov. Brown to make 0bama look bad.

Quote from BigBananaMess : $6 gas + Elections in a few weeks = a good thing Clearly this is a conspiracy by Gov. Brown to make 0bama look bad.

to be fair Obama has stated more than once in the past that expensive gasoline is NOT a bad thing whatsover.. His problem was that it rose at to fast a rate... This is by far within his terms of the pace of increase he wanted. Higher gas prices lead to people driving less.. being cleaner, using public transportation, buying electric/hybrid cars.. etc.. Obama supported high gas prices to push allow alternative fuels and clean energy.

Might have more to do with lack of refining capacity (no new refinery built in CA in over 30 years) while at the same time population has increased. Couple that with the strict regulations, high gas taxes and you end up with a perfect excuse to high gas prices.

4 more years!

The last refinery built in America was in 1976.

Quote from DJPlayer : true story.. It was freaking cold today (or at least felt like it). Today's high was in the 50's. Just today I moved all summer clothes to back of the closet. But from what I can see it looks like Northern CA is just touching the 60's. Should say southern CA (and other warm areas) always use more expensive gas because of the consistent warm temperatures year round?

Ya, North Pacific storm coming in today supposedly. CA doesn't always use summer blend gas. We just use it a bit longer because our summer lasts a bit longer.

Anyway, the problem in CA is that the oil companies have a disincentive to invest. When their refineries work, they make tons of money. When their refineries break down, they make supertankers full of money. One of the refineries that recently broke down is 110+ years old!

The argument will be made that California should build more refineries. Perhaps. But first, refineries aren't being built anywhere--not in California under Democrats (Gov. Brown and President Obama), not in Texas under Republican (Gov. Perry, President Bush). Why?

Well, NIMBY-ism plays a role. But the changing dynamics of the gasoline market play are running the show. Gasoline consumption in the US has been on a more-or-less permanent downslope. Refineries are operating at between 80 and 90% of capacity, so there is little justification for new refinery construction.

Think of it this way: Would you invest $1 billion building a new factory when your current factory already fully serves the market by operating at only 80-90% of capacity? Of course not.



Refinery utilization:
http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/...PUEUS2&f=M

Quote from gunnerusa : Ya, North Pacific storm coming in today supposedly. CA doesn't always use summer blend gas. We just use it a bit longer because our summer lasts a bit longer. Anyway, the problem in CA is that the oil companies have a disincentive to invest. When their refineries work, they make tons of money. When their refineries break down, they make supertankers full of money. One of the refineries that recently broke down is 110+ years old! The argument will be made that California should build more refineries. Perhaps. But first, refineries aren't being built anywhere--not in California under Democrats (Gov. Brown and President Obama), not in Texas under Republican (Gov. Perry, President Bush). Why? Well, NIMBY-ism plays a role. But the changing dynamics of the gasoline market play are running the show. Gasoline consumption in the US has been on a more-or-less permanent downslope. Refineries are operating at between 80 and 90% of capacity, so there is little justification for new refinery construction. Think of it this way: Would you invest $1 billion building a new factory when your current factory already fully serves the market by operating at only 80-90% of capacity? Of course not. Refinery utilization: http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/...PUEUS2&f=M

actually all of this is quite interesting. I was originally under the assumption that demand was very consistent if not increasing. Just by basis of monthly increase in population etc.. etc.. But apparently not. It seems like Fall 2008 was the peak of gasoline demand and miles driven.



now I'm sitting here questioning why? I predicted $5 gas this summer last year. The unstable economy kept prices much lower than previously forecasted. So now I can only wonder if people have become more intelligent regarding what car to purchase (knowing gas is not going to remain cheap). Or possibly are people using alternative methods of transportation? Or.. is lack of employment and lowered income causing people to drive less on a leisurely basis (one can see that during summer there was a decent incline). Many things to consider that I'm sure have been researched by someone..

Quote from DJPlayer : actually all of this is quite interesting. I was originally under the assumption that demand was very consistent if not increasing. Just by basis of monthly increase in population etc.. etc.. But apparently not. It seems like Fall 2008 was the peak of gasoline demand and miles driven. now I'm sitting here questioning why? I predicted $5 gas this summer last year. The unstable economy kept prices much lower than previously forecasted. So now I can only wonder if people have become more intelligent regarding what car to purchase (knowing gas is not going to remain cheap). Or possibly are people using alternative methods of transportation? Or.. is lack of employment and lowered income causing people to drive less on a leisurely basis (one can see that during summer there was a decent incline). Many things to consider that I'm sure have been researched by someone..

Well, I drive a beater that gets horrible mileage (15-19 MPG), but I've rented more than a few cars while traveling this year. I'm constantly amazed at the fact that pretty much every car I've rented (intermediate-standard size) gets at least 30 MPG, and sometimes almost 40 MPG.

Another factor: the population is getting older, and old people don't drive to work anymore.