Why is diesel so expensive in California? $6.08 in CA vs $4.84 in the rest of the US. California has additional costs:
- Prepaid sales tax of 0.47/gal (but this will be dropping to $0.33/gal effective next month
- 0.46/gal cap and trade cost
- A refinery “monopoly” that generates a $101/barrel profit vs. a Gulf coast refinery having a $6/barrel profit:
- Only California refineries can make “clean-enough” fuel —so imports from other states are a no-no
- Refining capacity has declined 12% since 2017 and will go down a further 8% next year.
These are serious additional costs.
