Unreliable California oil refineries should come with other options
So now we have “unplanned maintenance issues” spiking the price for gasoline in California (“California gas prices spike,” Dec. 26). This is just the latest in a long history of California automobile owners being held hostage by the oil refineries. California insists on having a special blend of fuel to benefit the environment, which is a good thing. The problem is we don’t insist on the oil refineries having extra capacity to handle their “issues.” This translates into higher prices for the public and conveniently higher profits for the oil industry.
We should insist on using the same gas the rest of the country is supplied with until the refineries in California can produce gas with the same supply consistency as seen in the other 49 states. Another solution would be to allow gas imports from the other states to make up the supply deficits until the “issues” are resolved.
Bob Bishop, Arroyo Grande
This story was originally published January 10, 2016 at 12:46 PM with the headline "Unreliable California oil refineries should come with other options."