Tony Moreno | Jan 18, 2016

gas-pricesWith fuel at all time lows, why does fuel in California still rank among the highest in the country? If you reside in or have recently visited the state of California, you may have noticed that gasoline is much more expensive here than in any other state across the country. In case you are wondering how this could be, take a look at a few reasons why gas is currently a whole lot more expensive in California than anywhere else.

Local Taxes and Fees
Did you know that the state of California poses the most expensive taxes and fees when it comes to gasoline consumption? Yes, it’s true. State officials have imposed these costly fees and taxes in order to reduce pollution and smog. This is also the reason why your gas costs much more than it would in any other state.

Damaged Refinery
Another factor that is suspected of contributing to higher gas prices in California is the explosion of an Exxon refinery back in February 2015. Due to the damage caused by the explosion, the availability of gasoline also took a blow.

Lack of Competition
There are only a handful of refineries and oil companies which provide gas to Californians. Since competition is so scarce in the region, these companies are able to price their gasoline accordingly.

Transport Costs
Due to the fact that most large refineries are located in other parts of the country and there aren’t that many pipes which lead here, it is quite expensive to transport gasoline to far west states such as California. Unfortunately, these transportation costs are then passed down to the consumer.

Although gas prices tend to be much higher here in California, there is one thing to keep in mind. California offers a number of efficient public transportation options for commuters. Choosing to commute on one of these forms of mass transit can significantly reduce your monthly gas bill until prices catch up with the rest of the country and begin to fall once again.

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