AAA Wants Answers
AAA asked the U.S. Senate Tuesday to investigate why oil companies are making huge profits at a time when glitches at gas refineries have caused pump prices to soar. “We are concerned about the number and frequency of refinery outages this year in light of the large profits the industry has been reporting,” AAA Public Affairs Director Geoff Sundstrom told the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, suggesting the industry should be better able to project and meet demand. Sundstrom spoke at a Senate hearing at which lawmakers asked energy experts to explain the spell of unplanned refinery shutdowns that have thrown gas supplies into disarray from coast to coast, boosting average pump prices to a record $3.09 per gallon in the United States and to $3.61 in the SF Bay Area.California Energy Commission spokesman Bob Aldrich said his agency does not investigate the industry but does track its practices. This year the big story was a series of glitches in the annual switchover from winter gas to a differently formulated summer gas, a process that occurs every spring. “This year (the switch) was particularly troublesome at all the refineries in California,” said Aldrich, adding that the state — which must import gas even when the system works flawlessly — “is kind of stuck when the refineries have problems.” UH HUH!
