Explainers

The policies and forces behind gas prices

Short, sourced explanations of the taxes, climate programs, and supply rules that move the price at the pump, and how much each one adds.

A state-only gasoline recipe that costs more to produce and cuts California off from outside supply.

How California and Washington price carbon into gasoline, at about 25 to 40 cents per gallon.

California, Oregon, and Washington require cleaner fuels, adding roughly 15 to 25 cents per gallon.

The EPA's clean-fuel mandate for smoggy metros, about 7 cents per gallon in covered areas.

The 1920 shipping law that raises gasoline prices in Alaska and Hawaii.

The federal supply districts, and why the isolated West Coast is structurally more expensive.

An electricity policy that does not touch gasoline directly but tracks the politics that do.