California’s Energy Reality: Lora Current in The Orange County Register

California residents feel it every time they fill up their car or fuel their truck, tractor, or generator: energy prices are climbing.

Gasoline and diesel don’t just cost a little more here than the rest of the nation — they’re on track to become almost twice the price of the cheapest average state prices and about 50–60% above the overall U.S. average.

Chevron has also begun drawing attention to one of the most visible drivers of California’s high fuel prices: taxes and fees. In early 2026, Chevron launched a campaign at select gas stations across the Golden State, highlighting that California has the highest gas taxes and regulatory costs in the nation.

A recent analysis from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business uses five decades of California’s own data to reveal another alarming reality: the state’s gasoline prices rose roughly 250% over the last 50 years, while its refining capacity collapsed. Over the same period, in-state oil production dropped by more than 60%, the number of refineries fell by more than half, and gasoline stocks plunged. Meanwhile, energy imports ballooned more than sevenfold.

These shifts were the direct result of a regulatory and economic environment that has made refining in California far more expensive and far less competitive.

That trend is accelerating. Two of the state’s largest refineries, Valero and Phillips 66, are set to shut down or significantly curtail operations by the end of 2026, eliminating roughly 20% of California’s in-state refining capacity.

Read the full opinion editorial here.