Pleasant Surprise

In California we are smarter than everyone in the rest of the country, at least when it pertains to the environment. That's why we have our own special gasoline formula:

California uses a unique set of pollution-fighting gasoline blends more stringent than those found in other states. As a result, most of California’s gasoline is made by 14 refineries located within the state. No pipeline connects California to refineries in other states, so when extra gasoline is needed, it has to arrive by ship.

Any disruption in supply, such as a refinery fire, results in a price spike. Just rumors of shortages trigger buying that the California-only suppliers cannot respond to immediately. Hence, this week's price action, apparently triggered by fuel traders [bold added]:

In just four days, the average price for a gallon of regular gas jumped more than 50 cents in Los Angeles, reaching $4.08 Monday morning. Prices rose in the Bay Area, too, but not nearly as much, with San Francisco’s average climbing 9 cents to reach $3.61 on Monday....The jump comes as the rest of the country is enjoying the cheapest summer gasoline prices in five years. The nationwide average for regular stands at $2.78 and has changed little over the past month, according to GasBuddy.com.

Fully prepared to pay $3.80 per gallon, I pulled into Costco Gas at South City. The price for regular was $3.249.

It was a pleasant surprise. The cost of environmental virtue was only 50 cents per gallon more, not a dollar.

Besides, California's high prices have another benefit--we get to pay the highest state gas taxes in the nation (2014 data), ensuring that our transportation infrastructure is top notch:

California is in 1st place with the highest rate of 52.89 cents per gallon, and is followed closely by New York (49.86 cents/gallon), Connecticut (49.3 cents/gallon), and Hawaii (48.05 cents/gallon).