California energy price data for February 2023

Below are the monthly updates from the most current February 2023 fuel price data (GasBuddy.com) and December 2022 electricity and natural gas price data (US Energy Information Administration). To view additional data and analysis related to the California economy visit our website at www.centerforjobs.org/ca.

The added costs under California policies and regulations continue to keep prices at the highest or near the highest among the contiguous states across all energy sources.

The electricity rankings are adjusted to reflect the annual residential electricity bill is the result of the annual revisions to the data for 2022. The slippage in the residential natural gas rate reflects the price effects coming from the pipeline supply shortages affecting the state at the end of the year. Note that the rankings are relative to the contiguous states and DC and may differ from some of the rankings listed below that compare California to all 50 states and DC.

Gasoline prices moved somewhat higher in California but remained little changed in the rest of the country as the annual shift to the higher cost summer blends required by state regulations began. In the latest data from CSAA, prices continue to inch higher with the average California price at $4.90 on March 6, but the US average again largely unchanged from February at $3.41.

Diesel—which has a significant effect on the cost of food and other goods—was largely unchanged in California but down 3.6% in the other states. The latest CSAA data shows diesel dipping 5 cents in California, and easing 11 cents in the US as a whole.

Click here to view the entirety of this report online.