The price of gas in California soared to within 7 cents of the all-time high on Monday even as prices leveled off in much of the U.S.
The average price per gallon of gas in California is $6.37, according to AAA, nearly $2 more than the $4.48 across the U.S. California’s all-time record is $6.44.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced that California will make an early switch to less-expensive winter-blend gas in an effort to lower prices. Unlike the summer blend, which is specially formulated to reduce evaporation and smog during hot weather, the winter blend is less complex and less expensive to produce.
Most parts of California usually switch to the winter blend on Oct. 31. Federal rules require a summer gasoline blend that reduces evaporation, but California has its own stricter standards.
The Environmental Protection Agency in August also allowed an early switch to the winter blend nationwide.
Newsom, in a letter to state regulators, called California’s action an “extraordinary response to extraordinary prices.” Severin Borenstein, a UC Berkeley professor who studies fuel markets, said the switch can lead to an extra 5-10% of gasoline supply in California.
Patrick De Haan, a petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, said on X that the blend changeover “could help cause gas prices in much of California to see relief starting in the days ahead instead of continued increases after a refinery problem developed.”
It was not immediately clear what De Haan was referring to regarding a refinery problem.
Fuel prices skyrocketed nationwide in the past month after escalations in the U.S.-Iran war. The Houthis, an Iranian-backed rebel group, have attacked key Saudi oil routes, and a major Saudi pipeline was closed due to a drone attack. The pipeline has since reopened. Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries added to the bump.
