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Residents of San Mateo County live with the anxiety of knowing the cost of gasoline every time they need to fill up their vehicle's tank, as the sudden rise in the price of hydrocarbons once again puts the economy of the most vulnerable communities in jeopardy.
The average cost of regular gasoline in San Mateo County on Monday, October 14 is $4.933 per gallon, almost 26 cents above the state average of $4.676 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
However, California is the first among the states with the highest hydrocarbon costs, as the national average is $3,203 per gallon, which means that the Golden State is $1.47 per gallon above the average.
It should be noted that in San Francisco, the cost reaches $5,032 per gallon of regular gasoline.
California has the highest cost at $4.676 per gallon; Hawaii is next at $4.57 per gallon; Washington is second at $4.069 per gallon; Nevada at $3.905 per gallon; Oregon at $3.674 per gallon; Alaska at $3.63 per gallon; Illinois at $3.488 per gallon; Utah at $3.452 per gallon; Idaho at $3.437 per gallon; and Pennsylvania at $3.379 per gallon.
Meanwhile, the state with the lowest average cost is Kentucky at $2.937 per gallon of regular gasoline.
On Friday, the California Senate advanced Governor Gavin Newsom's special session proposal to prevent sudden increases in gasoline prices.
The bill allows the state to require oil refineries to maintain a minimum fuel inventory to prevent supply shortages that lead to higher gasoline prices for consumers and higher profits for the industry.
It would also authorize the California Energy Commission to require refineries to plan for refueling during refinery maintenance outages.
“Californians are one step closer to getting the protections they need from Big Oil price gouging. I thank our partners in the Senate for helping Californians save money at the pump. Price gouging cost consumers more than $2 billion last year, and we are taking the steps necessary to help put an end to it,” Newsom said.
The measure has returned to the Assembly for a final vote on approval.
Stanford economists praised the proposal as "an economically sound policy that addresses an important problem in a well-targeted way" and that "the additional supply would free up refinery capacity to serve Nevada and Arizona, also reducing prices in those markets."
Supporters of the bill include mayors, local leaders, consumer organizations, environmental advocates, unions, business leaders and consumer groups.
Last month, the Governor and his supporters met and discussed how gas price spikes impact the daily lives of millions of Californians, and shared why this plan will help California families.
AAA said the national average price for a gallon of gasoline rose two cents to $3.21 a gallon since last week as large areas of the country deal with severe damage from back-to-back storms.
He noted that, like Hurricane Helene, Milton will not seriously affect the national gasoline supply, but it will affect demand in areas with destroyed infrastructure, flooded roads and power outages.
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