Gas price hikes driven by California refinery shutdowns

RAW STORY
Published: Wednesday August 16, 2006

A California-based consumer watchdog group has accused energy interests in the state of ratcheting up gas prices by increasing refinery outages, RAW STORY has found.

The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights pointed to a report by the California Energy Commission as providing evidence that refineries experienced three times as many shut downs in the first half of 2006 as they did in 2005. The 175 unplanned outages resulted in "abnormally low gasoline production" which caused gas price spikes earlier in the year.

The group criticized Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for "whitewashing" the California Energy Commission's findings that oil companies raked in huge profits during the first half of the year from the gas price hike. They pointed to the hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions Schwarzeneger had received from Chevron Texaco, a key refiner in the state, in addition to other energy interests, as the cause for the governor's silence on the problem.

The Foundation sought to compare the refinery shutdowns to the state's energy crisis in 2000 and 2001 that left millions without power in rolling blackouts over a 12 month period. Many blamed electricity producers during the crisis for seeking to maximize profits in a deregulated state energy market. The anger that the crisis bred is often credited with sparking the successful recall of Democratic Governor Gray Davis and subsequent elevation of Schwarzenegger to the post in 2003.

The group's full press release can be accessed at its website.