Press Advisory: To arrange an interview, contact Charles Langley at (619) 696-6966.

Just as we predicted, retailers and consumers alike took another beating at the gas pump as prices surged past the $3 mark to a new county average of $3.019 a gallon for regular unleaded according to UCAN's authoritative gasoline price tracking service at www.fueltracker.com.

The new average is the latest in a series of high octane price hikes that the oil industry says are due to refinery "problems" and lower than expected oil inventories.

According to UCAN's Gasoline Project Manager Charles Langley, the "reasons" behind the price hikes in California are highly questionable.

"First," says Langley, "the cost of gasoline is 45¢ higher than last year's avarage price on
this day of $2.574 a gallon. Second, on March 8 of last year, the cost of oil was $60 a barrel,
or $1.43 a gallon. Today, NYMEX oil closed at an almost identical price of $61.64 a barrel or
$1.47 per gallon. It doesn't add up. They can't blame a 40¢ increase on high oil prices."

For more information, see below. For background and UCAN Commentary, see the news story, "Oil Prices Down, Gas Prices Up," our commentary, The Algebra of Greed, and our Prediction of $3 a gallon gasoline.

What can consumers do to protect themselves?

1) Sign up for a free copy of UCAN's gasoline-saving guide (available to members and San Diego residents only)

2) Write your elected officials in the California Assembly and Senate. Let them know that this isn't a problem about a lack of refining capacity, rather it is a lack of competition that is pushing prices higher.

3) Use our Cheap Gas Locator at www.fueltracker.com

4) Consider joining UCAN. We are the only consumer group in San Diego that is passionately engaged in local energy issues.