Consumer Watchdog Exposes Oil Refiner Disinformation Campaign As Price Gouging Penalty Deliberations Begin At California Energy Commission

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumer Watchdog released a new video today to counter a disinformation campaign by the state's oil refiners lobby as it seeks to discredit the price gouging penalty being developed by the California Energy Commission. 

Consumer Watchdog president Jamie Court also participated on a roundtable panel at the Energy Commission today dealing with methodologies to establish the penalty.

Watch the "Consumer Alert" video.

"The oil refiners are up to their dirty old tricks again, but the public should not be fooled," said Court. "Oil refiners' profiteering from California gasoline is the cause of California's high gasoline prices, which is why they are funding phony mailers to throw the public off the scent. The Energy Commission should not be dissuaded by such tactics."

In the "Consumer Alert" video, Consumer Watchdog exposes the disinformation in a deceptive mailer by a refiner-funded front group called Californians for Affordable and Reliable Energy or CARE.  The front group was presented as being "activated" by the Western States Petroleum Association or WSPA to "contribute" to its advocacy goals in a 2014 internal presentation first made public by Businessweek. (see page 5) 

The mailer blames Sacramento politicians for California's high gasoline prices and falsely claims, "Sacramento politicians are adding $1.12 for every gallon of gasoline."  In fact, Californians' added taxes and environmental fees add only 70 cents per gallon. The video breaks down the costs and shows how California oil refiner profits of more than $1 per gallon are to blame for the high cost of California gasoline.

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog