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No, CA gas is always $1 more because Californians will pay it. It's not a true free market that responds to supply and demand. Even when it's refined locally an
by masonic 7y ago
No, CA gas is always $1 more because Californians will pay it. It's not a true free market that responds to supply and demand. Even when it's refined locally and should benefit from savings in transportation cost, it's always more. The CA market is broken out by CA-EPA requiring CA-specific formulations for inauthentic "environmental" reasons.
For example, CA "winter" gas adds oxygenates to "reduce CO and soot" by 10%. However, the resulting fuel has 10% less energy, so you have to burn about 110% of it to go the same distance.
One of the early oxygenates was MTBE[0]. Genius move, that. Save the environment by poisoning groundwater!
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTBE_controversy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTBE_controversy