Chevron Defeats Bid to Cut S.F. Fuel Prices

Chevron Corp., seller of most of the gasoline consumed in the San Francisco area, won a round in its bid to kill a proposal designed to cut the city’s fuel prices. The proposal before the San Francisco Board of Supervisors would have allowed service station owners more freedom to shop around for gasoline, a bid to cut pump prices that are 15 to 20 cents higher than in other parts of California. The city’s Board of Supervisors voted 8 to 2 on Monday to send the proposal back to committee. A supporter of the ordinance said the vote makes passage unlikely. “The tremendous amount of lobbying by Chevron killed it,” said Tom Ammiano, one of the two supervisors who voted in favor of the ordinance. Most of the 115 gas stations in San Francisco buy their fuel through franchise agreements with one oil company, based on where they’re located. The San Francisco ordinance would have banned oil companies from using such “zoned” pricing, and let service stations shop for the best price from any wholesaler who carried their company’s fuel. Chevron, with 20% of the market the leading seller of gasoline in California, pushed hard to kill the ordinance. The company told board members that it would move its headquarters and its 1,377 employees out of San Francisco if the ordinance passed, said Michael Yaki, the San Francisco supervisor who proposed the ordinance. Chevron wouldn’t comment on whether it had threatened to move its headquarters. Prices are higher in San Francisco than Los Angeles because of higher real estate values and fewer gas stations per capita, said Fred Gorrell, a Chevron spokesman.