The Regulators

California Democrats rail against their own regulations:

California’s Committee on Utilities and Energy grilled several state regulators on Wednesday about a possible gas price spike as two major oil refineries in California prepare to close, according to local news outlet KCRA. Despite their outrage, California Democrats have targeted the fossil fuel industry for years by creating a stringent regulatory climate, and energy companies — including their refining capacity — are withdrawing from the state, setting the table for a potentially massive 75% jump in gas prices. “We have a crisis on our hand that may have been self-created by the actions perhaps taken by the state, by regulators,” Democratic Assemblyman David Alvarez of San Diego said on Wednesday at the hearing, according to KCRA. “I know what climate leadership does not look like, and that is $10 gas,” Democratic Assemblyman Cottie Petrie-Norris told regulators at the hearing. California has the highest average per-gallon gas price at the pump compared to any other state, according to AAA gas price data. Meanwhile, California regulators have suggested increasing state involvement in refinery management, including the possibility of de facto state-owned refineries.

It's their own fault...