The California Energy Commission isn鈥檛 necessarily an agency that the public, or even reporters, follow for its every twist and turn.
But it does have a wide-ranging purview and its decisions can affect people鈥檚 daily lives, not to mention the industries being regulated.
For example, last week, it voted to begin proceedings for says could lower prices at the pump. The actions were outlined in the that Newsom signed in March.
Before holding its vote, commission members and staff described the first of two initiatives 鈥� which enables the commission to begin looking into oil company profit caps and to potentially penalize those who exceed that cap 鈥� as 鈥渃omplicated鈥� and a 鈥渕onumental task.鈥�
Drew Bohan, the commission鈥檚 executive director, said agreeing to move forward allows the commission to further evaluate gas prices. It will also permit stakeholders, including environmentalists and oil companies, to weigh in and authorize staff to develop recommendations.
But Sarah Taylor, an associate counsel for the trade group Western States Petroleum Association, unsuccessfully urged the commissioners during the meeting to 鈥渄o its due diligence鈥� before rushing to a 鈥渄ecision that will likely impact every Californian.鈥�
Given the wider scope of data that their newly formed watchdog group can collect, the commissioners also voted to start a rulemaking process to investigate refinery maintenance. This may lead to the commission imposing time limits to lessen the impact of production losses.
The trade group also objected to the motion in vain.
- Taylor: 鈥淒ata has the potential to move markets, place our in-state refineries at a competitive disadvantage and could have a monumental impact on our economy at a time of increasing global volatility. Expediting this process does not help any of us鈥� Data would likely provide a distorted view of how the industry operates, potentially worsening a situation the CEC is tasked with avoiding.鈥�
The commission鈥檚 actions on Oct. 18 won鈥檛 do much to immediately lower prices at the pump (as of Sunday, reports the average price per gallon in California was $5.45, higher than the national average by $1.90), but they鈥檙e key to ensuring that Newsom鈥檚 law remains effective. As for next steps, the commission is expected to host a series of workshops, public hearings and stakeholder meetings in November.
Republicans in the Legislature say there鈥檚 a much quicker fix: , and they鈥檙e still imploring Newsom to call a special session to do just that.
Outdoor pools: The Energy Commission also announced that it鈥檚 , which use and 鈥渨aste a lot of energy,鈥� said commissioner Andrew McAllister .
Starting in September 2025, owners must have pool equipment, namely internet-connected smart pool pumps, that can adjust their operations during non-peak energy hours. According to , the pumps 鈥渃ost about $70 more than regular ones, but users are expected to save $100 a month by buying power during the day, when it鈥檚 cheaper.鈥�
If every pool owner in California switches to a controller that offers flexible energy use, the commission estimates that the load shift would be the 鈥渢he equivalent to removing 85,000 gasoline-powered cars off the road,鈥� and consumer savings would add up to about $1,131 over the lifetime of the pool controller.
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