A California petroleum oversight official told lawmakers Tuesday that investigators identified more than a dozen branded gasoline stations charging $2 to $3 above the statewide average, issued notices and subpoenas, and saw some stations cut prices by 50 cents or more after contact.
Tom Milder, director of the Division of Petroleum Market Oversight, made the disclosure during an Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy hearing on fuel markets. The hearing summary and testimony described the division’s active investigation into branded gasoline pricing outliers.
Milder said the division’s analysis found California’s branded-vs.-unbranded gasoline price gap has widened to about 30 cents a gallon, compared with just over five cents in the rest of the country. He also said Chevron, Shell and ExxonMobil were the highest-priced major brands on average.
The hearing did not identify the stations that were subpoenaed, and it was not clear whether the division has alleged formal violations or sought penalties. But the testimony suggested regulators are already seeing price changes after contact with retailers.
The disclosure came amid a broader hearing in which lawmakers and witnesses discussed supply disruptions, California’s dependence on imported fuel and the state’s persistent gasoline price premium.
