The California Energy Commission voted on Friday to suspend its ability to impose a profit cap on gasoline refiners for the next five years.

The ability to set this cap, sometimes described as a price gouging penalty, was supported by Governor Gavin Newsom when he signed it into law in 2023. He described it as a way to stop unnecessary gas price spikes. The decision came in the wake of 2022 gas prices that were more than $2 over the national average per gallon.

But after two refineries announced impending closures , Newsom and other legislators have looked for ways to encourage the state’s remaining refineries to stay in California.

But critics say it’ll encourage refiners to keep raising gas prices.

Jamie Court, president of the nonprofit Consumer Watchdog, described the decision as a

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