03/29/2024

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California Energy Price Data for June 2020

Below are the monthly updates from the most current June 2020 fuel price data (GasBuddy.com) and April 2020 electricity and natural gas price data (US Energy Information Agency). To view additional data and analysis related to the California economy visit our website at www.centerforjobs.org/ca.

California energy policies and regulations continue to impose a substantial cost premium well above those that prevailed in the post-2008 recovery period, and will consume both household and employer resources in the upcoming recovery substantially above comparable costs in other states.  These costs also just got higher. Although not yet incorporated into the June data below, California fuel taxes again increased on July 1, raising the gasoline tax by 3.2 cents a gallon and diesel tax by 2.5 cents. These tax increases are the result of annual inflation adjustments pursuant to SB 1 (2017), a feature that will likely keep California’s fuel taxes the highest in the nation for some time to come.

California vs. US Fuel Price Gap at 47.3% Premium

$0.98
Price Per Gallon
Above US Average
(CA Average)

The June average price per gallon of regular gasoline in California rose 19 cents from May to $3.03. The California premium above the average for the US other than California ($2.06) notched down to 97.5 cents, a 47.3% difference.

2nd
Ranked by price

In June, California had the 2nd highest gasoline price among the states and DC, behind only Hawaii. Californians paid $1.27 a gallon more than consumers in Mississippi, the state with the lowest price.

California vs. US Diesel Price

$0.94
Price Per Gallon
Above US Average
(CA Average)

The June average price per gallon of diesel in California rose 7 cents from May to $3.31. The California premium above the average for the US other than California ($2.37) rose to 93.6 cents, a 39.5% difference.

2nd
Ranked by price

In June, California had the 2nd highest diesel price among the states and DC, behind only Hawaii.

Range Between Highest and Lowest Prices by Region

$1.05
Price per Gallon
Above US Average
(Bay Area Region)

The cost premium above the US (other than California) average price for regular gasoline ranged from $0.87 in the Central Valley Region (average June price of $2.93), to $1.05 in Bay Area Region (average June price of $3.11).

Highest/Lowest Fuel Prices by Legislative District:

June 2020: Average Price ($ per gallon) of Regular Gasoline
LegislatorHighest $ Per Gallon
CD12 (Pelosi-D)$3.27
CD33 (Lieu-D)$3.20
CD02 (Huffman-D)$3.19
CD28 (Schiff-D)$3.14
CD14 (Speier-D)$3.14
SD11 (Wiener-D)$3.22
SD26 (Allen-D)$3.19
SD02 (McGuire-D)$3.17
SD13 (Hill-D)$3.16
SD39 (Atkins-D)$3.12
AD17 (Chiu-D)$3.29
AD50 (Bloom-D)$3.27
AD24 (Berman-D)$3.19
AD10 (Levine-D)$3.18
AD19 (Ting-D)$3.17
June 2020: Average Price ($ per gallon) of Regular Gasoline
LegislatorLowest $ Per Gallon
CD35 (Torres-D)$2.95
CD22 (Nunes-R)$2.94
CD16 (Costa-D)$2.92
CD21 (Cox-D)$2.91
CD10 (Harder-D)$2.88
SD20 (Leyva-D)$2.96
SD12 (Caballero-D)$2.96
SD04 (Nielsen-R)$2.94
SD05 (Galgiani-D)$2.92
SD14 (Hurtado-D)$2.91
AD21 (Gray-D)$2.92
AD31 (Arambula-D)$2.92
AD03 (Gallagher-R)$2.91
AD12 (Flora-R)$2.90
AD32 (Salas-D)$2.89

California Residential Electricity Price

55.8%
Above Average for
Rest of US

California average Residential Price for the 12 months ended April 2020 was 19.72 cents/kWh, 55.8% higher than the US average of 12.66 cents/kWh for all states other than California. California’s residential prices remained the 7th highest in the nation.

California Residential Electric Bill

24.5%
Growth Since 2010

For the 12 months ended April 2020, the average annual Residential electricity bill in California was $1,238, or 24.5% higher ($244) than the comparable bill in 2010 (the year the AB 32 implementation began with the Early Action items). In this same period, the average US (less CA) electricity bill for all the other states grew only 1.5% ($20).

Residential bills, however, vary widely by region, with the estimated annual household usage in 2018 as much as 59% higher in the interior regions compared to the milder climate coastal areas.

$6.1b
Premium Above
US Average Price

For the 12 months ended April 2020, California’s higher electricity prices translated into Residential ratepayers paying $6.1 billion more than the average ratepayers elsewhere in the US using the same amount of energy. Compared to the lowest rate state (Louisiana), California ratepayers paid an additional $8.9 billion.

California Commercial Electricity Price

69.7%
Above Average for
Rest of US

California average Commercial Price for the 12 months ended April 2020 was 17.09 cents/kWh, 69.7% higher than the US average of 10.07 cents/kWh for all states other than California.  California’s commercial prices remained the 3rd highest in the nation.

California Industrial Electricity Price

115.0%
Above Average for
Rest of US

California average Industrial Price for the 12 months ended April 2020 was 13.74 cents/kWh, 115.0% higher than the US average of 6.39 cents/kWh for all states other than California. California’s industrial prices remained the 5th highest in the nation.

$11.2b
Premium Above
US Average Price

For the 12 months ended April 2020, California’s higher electricity prices translated into Commercial & Industrial ratepayers paying $11.2 billion more than ratepayers elsewhere in the US using the same amount of energy. Compared to the lowest rate states (Idaho for commercial and Oklahoma for industrial), California businesses paid an additional $14.8 billion..

California Natural Gas Prices

Average prices ($ per thousand cubic feet) for the 12 months ended April 2020 and changes from the previous 12-month period for each end user:

Residential Commercial Industrial
CA, April 2020 $13.63 $9.24 $7.50
CA, April 2019 $13.05 $9.12 $7.60
Change 4.4% 1.3% -1.3%
Rest of US, April 2020 $10.33 $7.37 $3.10
Rest of US, April 2019 $10.31 $7.70 $3.94
Change 0.2% -4.3% -21.3%
CA premium over Rest of US, April 2020 31.9% 25.4% 141.9%
CA premium over Rest of US, April 2019 26.6% 18.4% 92.9%