California’s Energy Island Leaves Drivers Paying More Than Hawaii

California motorists are paying more for gasoline than drivers in Hawaii, underscoring the consequences of weakening local energy supplies in an isolated market. An October 21 New York Post editorial reported that California’s average price for regular gasoline reached $6.14 per gallon on October 20, compared with $5.63 in Hawaii and a national average of $4.30. That puts California 51 cents above Hawaii and $1.84 above the national average.

For CIPA, the comparison reinforces a warning the association has delivered for years: reducing local oil production while Californians continue to need petroleum increases reliance on imported supplies and puts upward pressure on gasoline prices. Policies that discourage production and undermine refining capacity carry costs that ultimately reach consumers.

The editorial describes California as having become an island from an energy standpoint, echoing CIPA’s longstanding description of the state as an “energy island.” But the article should have explained the central infrastructure limitation more precisely: California has zero crude oil pipelines bringing supplies into the state from other states. California refineries cannot simply order additional crude through an interstate pipeline connected to Texas, New Mexico, or other major domestic producing regions.

That isolation makes California’s own production particularly important. Local crude can reach nearby refineries through existing pipeline infrastructure. When those supplies decline, replacement barrels generally must arrive aboard ships, adding transportation requirements and exposing California to ocean freight costs, shipping disruptions, and competition for overseas supplies.

Finished gasoline presents another challenge. California requires a specialized blend that limits the number of suppliers able to serve its market. That does not prevent imports from other states or countries, but replacement fuel must meet California specifications. The California Energy Commission acknowledges that overseas supplies can take three weeks to arrive, prolonging the effects of refinery outages and international supply disruptions.

The distinction between crude production and refining also matters. Producers supply the raw material, while refineries manufacture gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and other products. California still relies heavily on its own refineries: the CEC reports that they supplied 81 percent of gasoline consumed in the state in 2025. Preserving those facilities, along with the local production that helps supply them, is essential to maintaining a reliable fuel market.

The editorial also points to taxes, climate program costs and regulatory requirements as contributors to California’s price premium. Global crude prices and international conflict affect consumers nationwide, but California’s isolation makes replacing disrupted supplies especially difficult. Restricting local production compounds that vulnerability rather than providing consumers with additional options.

CIPA has consistently urged policymakers to recognize this basic supply reality. California cannot assume that declining local production will be matched, barrel for barrel, by declining demand. When supply disappears faster than demand, the state must compete for replacement imports, leaving households and businesses exposed to higher costs and less predictable deliveries.

The Hawaii comparison should serve as another warning to Sacramento. California possesses petroleum resources, skilled workers, pipelines, and refineries that can help meet its continuing needs. State leaders should partner with producers to preserve those advantages through workable permitting, predictable regulation, and support for essential infrastructure.

An energy island needs dependable local supplies. California’s consumers are paying the price for policies that make those supplies harder to produce.