Capitol Corner: Lowering gas prices, reparations

By Lynn La The California Energy Commission’s new Division of Petroleum Market Oversight, established by the law signed by Gov. Newsom last year on gas price gouging, issued two recommendations Wednesday to address one of the big factors it says can cause gasoline prices to spike — spot-market volatility. The ups and downs of the spot market — the first stop for buying and selling gasoline for near-term delivery — are based on the activity of refiners, large wholesalers, retailers and international trading firms that buy large quantities of gas. California has two spot markets, one for the Bay Area and one for Los Angeles. “Spot market prices are the biggest driver of statewide gasoline prices even though they represent a small portion of gasoline sales each day,” the division said in a letter to the governor. Tai Milder, director of the new division, said that spot-market trades have up until now been reported by a company that sells subscriptions to that data. But under the new law, he said all trades are now required to be reported to the Energy Commission within 24 hours. His division is recommending publicizing that information. Milder, in a press conference: “It’s time to...