California regulators on Friday began a series of meetings around a new law that state leaders say is intended to protect consumers from gas pump price gouging. The California Energy Commission is holding the first of three pre-rulemaking workshops to determine how the law will actually be implemented. In March, California lawmakers and the governor passed a law empowering the commission to consider penalizing oil refiners if they take too much money from California drivers. The law creates and empowers a new watchdog group within the commission to gather private business information and data from refiners to consider whether to impose a cap and potential penalties on the company’s profits. and set rules for the maintenance of the refinery, but there was no discussion of possible penalties. Commissioners said Friday was an important first step for the first-in-the-nation law.” California consumers with a diligent and deliberate process that allows for an open and transparent partnership. -talk to really see the different frameworks available to us that will result in an outcome that ultimately supports the protection of California consumers,” said Commissioner Siva Gunda. The Western States Petroleum Association, which represents refiners, tried to fight the law that created the law. In a statement, a spokesperson for the association said: “The state that tries to control the maintenance of the refinery is solving a symptom instead of fixing the real problem, which is the state that continues to implement policies that have a negative impact on the supply of transportation fuels. Maintaining refineries often requires years of planning and coordination of logistics, labor, equipment, and inventories. Telling our industry, or anything else, whether repairs and upgrades can or can’t compromise employee and community safety.” The rules are up for public review in May, with a deadline of to implement the new rules in July of 2024.
California regulators on Friday began a series of meetings around a new law that state leaders say is intended to protect consumers from gas pump price gouging.
The California Energy Commission is holding the first of three pre-rulemaking workshops to determine how the law will actually be implemented.
In March, California lawmakers and the governor passed a law empowering the commission to consider penalizing oil refiners if they take too much money from California drivers. The law creates and empowers a new watchdog group within the commission to collect private business information and data from refiners to consider whether to place a cap and potential penalties on the company’s profits. .
Friday’s workshop focused on the rules for how the commission collects data from refiners and sets refinery maintenance rules, but there was no discussion of possible penalties.
Commissioners said Friday was an important first step for the first-in-the-nation law.
“The CEC is going to do this very important work, aimed at protecting California consumers in a diligent and deliberate process that allows for an open and transparent conversation to really look at the different frameworks available to us that results in an outcome. that ultimately supports the protection of California consumers,” said Commissioner Siva Gunda.
The Western States Petroleum Association, which represents refiners, tried to fight the law that created the law. In a statement, the association’s spokesperson said:
“The state that tries to control the maintenance of the refinery is solving a symptom instead of fixing the real problem, which is the state that continues to implement policies that have a negative impact on the supply of transportation fuels. , equipment, and inventories. Telling our industry, or any other, whether or not repairs and upgrades are possible can compromise employee and community safety.”
The commission plans to have the proposed rules ready for public review in May, with a deadline to implement the new rules in July of 2024.
