10-23-2019, 06:12 AM
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California's governor has asked the attorney general to investigate why the state's gas prices are so high, pointing to a new report suggesting big oil companies are "misleading and overcharging customers" by as much as $1 per gallon.
Name brand retailers - including 76, Chevron and Shell - often charge more because they say their gasoline is of higher quality. But a new analysis from the California Energy Commission could not explain the price difference, concluding "there is no apparent difference in the quality of gasoline at retail outlets in the state."
The commission said California drivers paid an average of 30 cents more per gallon in 2018, with the difference getting as high as $1 per gallon in April of this year... paid an additional $11.6 billion at the pump over the last five years. "There is no identifiable evidence to justify these premium prices," Newsom wrote in a letter to Attorney General Xavier Becerra. "If oil companies are engaging in false advertising or price fixing, then legal action should be taken to protect the public... does not have any evidence that gasoline retailers fixed prices or engaged in false advertising.â€
Catherine Reheis-Boyd, president of the Western States Petroleum Association, said it was important to note Californiaâ€s fuel taxes and standards, which are more strict than other states, account for the first $1.07 per gallon at the pump.
https://abc7.com/politics/gov-gavin-news...s/5637103/
Name brand retailers - including 76, Chevron and Shell - often charge more because they say their gasoline is of higher quality. But a new analysis from the California Energy Commission could not explain the price difference, concluding "there is no apparent difference in the quality of gasoline at retail outlets in the state."
The commission said California drivers paid an average of 30 cents more per gallon in 2018, with the difference getting as high as $1 per gallon in April of this year... paid an additional $11.6 billion at the pump over the last five years. "There is no identifiable evidence to justify these premium prices," Newsom wrote in a letter to Attorney General Xavier Becerra. "If oil companies are engaging in false advertising or price fixing, then legal action should be taken to protect the public... does not have any evidence that gasoline retailers fixed prices or engaged in false advertising.â€
Catherine Reheis-Boyd, president of the Western States Petroleum Association, said it was important to note Californiaâ€s fuel taxes and standards, which are more strict than other states, account for the first $1.07 per gallon at the pump.
https://abc7.com/politics/gov-gavin-news...s/5637103/