The California Energy Commission will delay the decision it planned to make this spring on whether to cap oil refiner’s profit margins until 2026, the agency said.
What happened: The agency will wait until later this year to start developing a possible proposal for a refinery profit cap to manage gasoline price spikes, spokesperson Sandy Louey said in an email. The agency will still vote this spring on rules to regulate refinery backup supply under the special session bill that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed last year, AB X2-1.
Previously, the agency had said it would take a holistic approach and present “a high-level framework” this spring that “prioritized developing refinery resupply and minimum inventory requirements in tandem with a potential maximum margin and penalty,” according to an email from spokesperson Harrison Reilly in February.
The agency said Friday that the yet-to-be scheduled spring vote will focus on the resupply rule and assess other strategies later. “Work on developing the use of additional tools will begin later this year and continue into 2026,” Louey wrote.
