LOS ANGELES – An extraordinary convergence of fuel supply problems this week in California prompted severe spikes in wholesale gasoline prices and experts say there’s no immediate relief in sight, prompting GasBuddy to call for motorists to sign its petition (www.GasBuddy.com/petition) aiming to bring gas price relief.
“The Federal government’s report Wednesday identified California supply problems that are compounded by a dearth of imports where they’re most needed. It triggered a significant spike in Los Angeles spot gasoline prices and we’ve seen additional increases yesterday and today,” said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy. “GasBuddy users are already reporting some stations that have hiked gas prices in Southern California by over 80 cents per gallon.”
“We’re anticipating increases that could surpass 50-cents a gallon in Southern California and up to 20-cents a gallon in Northern California by next week. That’s why we’re asking Governor Brown to intercede and issue a waiver in the public interest,” DeHaan added.
GasBuddy CEO Jason Toews sent a letter today to Governor Brown and the crowd-sourced network of consumer-friendly websites is also asking all concerned Californians to sign a petition requesting the same.
In past crisis situations the State of California has consulted with the EPA and Department of Energy to amend its California gas regulations to relax the standards when such “extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstances” arose and granted a waiver.
“We’re hopeful that the governor will recognize how helpful that waiver can be right now, especially for people struggling to pay the bills,” noted DeHaan.
Governor Jerry Brown
Office of the Governor
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814 July 10, 2015
Re: Waiver of California Air Resource Board’s (CARB) Volatility Requirements on Gasoline
Dear Governor:
We’re writing to you on behalf of all California consumers to ask you to provide a measure of relief necessary to correct a critical development.
We at GasBuddy monitor gas prices in every state and every market and benefit from the daily communication we receive from millions of members nationwide. Fifty million have downloaded the GasBuddy app and use it to identify the lowest gas prices available.
On Wednesday, July 8, following the weekly report from the Energy Information Administration, a ‘perfect storm’ that’s been stirring in California since the spring’s refinery woes struck the oil markets and delivered a significant spike in wholesale prices for strict CARB-mandated motor gasoline followed by additional increases yesterday and today. This has left Los Angeles spot gasoline prices some $1.35/gallon higher than they started the week.
The average retail price of gasoline in California is beginning to spike, hitting every motorist fueling up. Retail prices in Los Angeles have already increased by 12 cents per gallon in the past 24 hours.
In addition, the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) has reported that “no immediate supply relief is expected for the tight Los Angeles gasoline market” and that imports from Europe and Asia could take three to four weeks to arrive. That transit time is exacerbated by the additional time required to blend CARBOB specifications into it for delivery.
GasBuddy analysts estimate that over the next two weeks Southern California could see price increases breaching 50 cents per gallon, and increases up to half that amount in Northern California.
In past crisis situations the State of California has consulted with the EPA and Department of Energy to amend its California gas regulations to relax the standards when such “extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstances” arose and granted a waiver.
We respectfully ask that you review the current price escalation and grant a waiver for the appropriate period, in the interest of motorists throughout the State of California as they would be greatly and directly affected by the expected gas price spike. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Jason Toews
1 comment
Ha Ha Ha………..Brown does not give a crap.
He will just wipe his ass with the petition!
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