SACRAMENTO — California’s top energy planning body on Tuesday set out to give lawmakers a better understanding of why gas prices went haywire this summer, as oil industry representatives and consumer advocates launch opening salvos in an increasingly bitter push to tax surging gas profits.
“We had prices of gasoline that are not OK for Californians,” said Siva Gunda, the commission’s vice chair. In early October, average fuel costs topped $6.40 a gallon. State analysts acknowledged that they have little insight into key information guiding the industry’s pricing and operations as board members asked for a list of hard-to-access data that could further oil industry oversight.
“California oil refiners reported truly windfall profits in 2022, profits levels they have never reached in the last 20 years.” said Jamie Court of Consumer Watchdog. “It’s time for the state to set a windfall profits cap on oil refiners so that the Golden State gouge comes to an end.” In “2020 the oil companies lost hundreds of billions of dollars,” said Michael Mische, a business professor at USC, speaking on Monday at an event organized by Californians Against Higher Taxes. “Today they’re making it back.”
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