Who got rich off this scheme?

A bargain, I tells ya!

I am a bit confused.

Is this out of the ordinary for California ?

This happens in Ohio very frequently.

We have spikes of 30 or 40 cents all the time.

They claim refinery fires and incidents.

We hear so much moaning and groaning about the incompetence of government, about how it is too big, about how we have too much of it.

But where do most of the horrible mistakes get made -- in the private sector.

If the government ran refineries so sloppily that they caught on fire or broke down over and over, we would hear a lot of screaming from the media.

But since this incompetence is in the private sector, you could hear a pin drop. Hardly a sound until prices rise.

This is why we need big government -- because our private sector is so untrustworthy and careless.

And tricky.

The question remains whether the refinery failure story was exaggerated -- or true at all. Because the day after our governor took some action that would cut into the profits of the California refineries, the day after Senators Feinstein and Boxer started talking about a congressional investigation, miracle of miracles, prices are set to go down.

California was the victim of the Enron scam. We will not allow the private sector to manipulate and use and cheat us again. The people who manage the private sector are citizens in a democracy just like everyone else. In the end, they have to act responsibly and answer to the needs of the community.

The availability and cost of energy including fuel, oil and gas affects our national security. My e-mails don't. Our government does not need to regulate or check my e-mails. Our government needs to check the safety and efficiency of our energy industry including our refineries.

Thanks for your input.

Twice a year when it is time for the seasonal formulation changes, the refiners all act like it is some big surprise. "Oh noes! A seasonal formulation change? We had no idea THAT was going to happen! And just when we shut half our capacity down for maintenance at one plant and set another one on fire! Oh well, guess we just have to jack up the prices. Drat!

Like clockwork, they use the formulation change regulation to manipulate the market, spike the prices and line their pockets. It is profiteering at its worst.

ETA: Very similar to how the power company always seems caught off-guard by people needing more electricity when the thermometer heads for triple digits.

. . . but will it come down to where it was before? I doubt it.

I bet it comes down a few cents at best.

Was 4.69, now 4.79.