Average LA County Gas Price Rises For 30th Consecutive Day, Premium in Pasadena Above $6.00

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County rose Thursday for the 30th consecutive day, increasing 1 cent to a record $6.031.

All gas Pasadena stations polled by GasBuddy.com, and industry pricing guide, are selling premium above the $6.00 mark, but regular unleaded can be found in the upper $5.00 range at many locations.

The average price has risen $1.244 during the streak, including 1 cent Wednesday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 14.2 cents more than one week ago, $1.209 higher than one month ago and $2.103 greater than one year ago.

“Southern California gas prices are continuing to move higher due to refinery issues we have been experiencing recently,” Doug Shupe, the Automobile Club of Southern California’s corporate communications manager, told City News Service.

“PBF Energy refineries in Torrance and Martinez and a Valero refinery outside of San Francisco have experienced unexpected problems in recent weeks that caused a reduction in gasoline production and therefore more increases at the gas pumps.”

The Torrance Refinery has been having issues restarting a key unit that went offline after a March 6 power outage, and there’s “no word yet on when things will return to full operation,” Shupe said.

There was no response to an email sent to the Torrance Refinery asking when it will return to full operation.

The Torrance Refinery is capable of producing 1.8 billion gallons of gasoline per year, nearly 10% of the state’s demand, a refinery official said.

While the Los Angeles County average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline rose 14.2 cents over the past week and the Orange County average price 13.8 cents, the national average dropped 5.3 cents, primarily because of the lower global price of crude oil, according to Andrew Gross, an AAA national public relations manager.

In Pasadena on Wednesday, CTC Equity in Pasadena, 1414 E Washington Blvd. was selling regular $5.67 for and premium for $6.01,  while the Arco at 1010 E. Washington Blvd. was pumping regular at $5.75 and premium at $6.15, according to GasBuddy.com.

Meanwhile, Vehicle owners in the Southland and across California would receive $400 debit cards from the state under a proposal unveiled Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom in an effort to provide relief from skyrocketing gas prices.

Under Newsom’s proposal, Californians would receive a $400 debit card for each registered vehicle they own, with a limit of two. According to the governor’s office, the average motorist pays about $300 in gasoline excise taxes each year.

The rebate program will cost a total of $9 billion. Newsom also proposed $2 billion in other measures:

• $750 million to provide grants to transit agencies to offer free rides for three months;

• $600 million to pause a portion of the sales tax on diesel fuel for a year; and

• $523 million to pause inflation adjustments to gas and diesel excise tax rates.

“We’re taking immediate action to get money directly into the pockets of Californians who are facing higher gas prices as a direct result of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,” Newsom said in a statement.