Newsom orders early arrival of winter blend of gas to slow rising prices at the pump
SAN FRANCISCO -- Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered state officials to lift restrictions on producing cheaper winter blends of gasoline to slow the steep increase in the price of unleaded at the pump.
Under federal law, refineries are required to switch to blends that limit emissions from May 1 to September 15. However in California, the switch back to winter blends does not take place generally until Oct. 31.
Summer blends are more expensive to produce so they drive up higher retail prices at the pump.
On Friday, Newsom sent a letter to the state air resources board telling them to allow refineries to convert to winter blends immediately.
"California is currently experiencing tight gasoline supplies that are causing dramatic spikes in prices consumers must pay," Newsom wrote. "Gas prices in the State are approaching record highs. If this situation continues it may cause unacceptable price impacts for consumers and small businesses,"
"In light of the dramatic increase in gas prices that California is experiencing we should not wait until the end of the month to start distributing or to ramp up production of our winter blend gasoline."
Newsom order comes as prices at the gas pumps across the San Francisco Bay Area have surged once again to over $6 for a gallon of regular unleaded.
According to AAA, there has been more than a 20-cent jump between the price of unleaded since Wednesday.
San Francisco rose from $6.289 to $6.507. San Jose's jump was from $6.142 to $6.384 and motorists filling up in Oakland experienced an increase from $6.155 to $6.507.
San Rafael residents were among the highest in the state jumping from $6.304 to $6.553.
The wild swing in prices has taken even veteran industry watchdog Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, by surprise.
"One of the longest gas price declines on record has finally come to an end after 14 weeks, with gas prices shooting up in several regions amidst myriad refinery issues from the West Coast to the Great Lakes and in between," De Haan said in his weekly blog. "I don't know that I've ever seen a wider gamut of price behaviors coast to coast in my career."
"A slew of unexpected refinery disruptions, including fires and routine maintenance, have seemingly all happened in a short span of time, causing wholesale gas prices to spike in areas of the West Coast, Great Lakes and Plains states," he added. "Some of those areas could see prices spike another 25-75 cents per gallon or more until issues are worked out."
Officials have cited "unplanned" refinery maintenance as the stimulus for the steep rise.
"Oil Price Information Service reports that several local refineries are undergoing unplanned maintenance as fuel inventories are at their lowest levels in a decade, which caused Los Angeles wholesale gas prices to rise sharply this week," said Auto Club spokesperson Doug Shupe from Southern California.
According to Gasbuddy, California, Hawaii and Nevada have the highest prices at the pump.