Dianne Feinstein: “I would like to refute his comment on how well things are going in California and ethanol being accommodated by reading…”

“I would like to refute his comment on how well things are going in California and ethanol being accommodated by reading an article in the Los Angeles Times of May 10. California gasoline prices rose higher and faster than pump prices elsewhere in the nation this year because of supply problems caused by refinery repairs and the transition to a new clean-fuel additive, the U.S. Energy Department said Friday. Refiners in the state are switching to ethanol as part of the recipe for cleaner-burning fuel, eliminating water-polluting methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE, in advance of a Jan. 1 State ban. This change in fuel additives, designed to meet the Federal oxygen requirement for gas, helped push California gas prices higher and might leave the state short of supplies during peak summer driving months, the report by the Energy Information Administration said. That in turn could trigger more frequent price spikes, said the EIA, the Energy Department's research and statistical arm. The agency said the report was a preliminary assessment and that it plans to release more detailed findings this fall. "There is a chance that California could see a recurring problem with volatility," said Joanne Shore, an EIA senior analyst who led the team that produced the report. "Certainly, that is an issue for this summer that everyone is going to continue to watch."”