Decoding why California’s gas prices are higher than a chain of islands deep in the Pacific
California’s gas prices are near record highs, even after easing slightly in the past few days. And the craziest thing is that Hawaii pays much less per gallon.
California’s average price Tuesday, Oct. 20, for a gallon of regular unleaded gas was $6.14. The national average was $4.30. And Hawaiians paid $5.63 per gallon, on average.
That’s 51 cents cheaper, per gallon, than in California.
There is no natural explanation. Gas should not be more expensive in California than in Hawaii.
As The California Post has reported, Hawaii has higher energy costs than California — and understandably so, because it has no oil or natural gas of its own and must rely on imported fossil fuels. Solar energy cannot make up the gap.
California, at least, has some domestic fossil fuel production, as well as hydroelectric power from dams. Democrats’ green mandates still make energy far too expensive in California, though.
The fact is that California has chosen to become an island, in energy terms. It has cut itself off from nearby pipelines. It uses a fuel blend that applies stricter environmental standards, so it cannot import fuel from other states. And California’s state government has driven refineries out of business, so California refines very little of its own fuel.
Add to that a dollar per gallon in taxes, and $0.26 per gallon in climate change costs through the cap-and-trade system — oops, “cap-and-invest” — and it is clear that California pays more for gas by choice.
Yes, the Iran war has driven up gas prices, especially for diesel, because Iran has defended its tyrannical regime and its apocalyptic nuclear program by trying to choke off the Strait of Hormuz, and by firing missiles at refineries in noncombatant countries.
But that affects every state, and does not explain why California still pays more than Hawaii — and the rest of the nation.
It is almost unimaginable that, in energy terms, California would be more isolated than a small archipelago in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean.
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