SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — President Joe Biden's announcement Tuesday banning imports of Russian oil will likely send gas prices even higher.
"I'm going to do everything I can to minimize Putin's price hike here at home," said the president during his speech.
The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline is up 10 cents in San Diego to roughly $5.43. Prices reached $6.00 at stations across the region.
Connor McGill is on vacation in San Diego but says the increasing prices will likely cut his trip short.
"We're college students. We're just barely enough, but when something like this comes across, obviously, you have to put fuel in your car to go places, but it sucks," said McGill.
Republican Assemblymember Vince Fong represents California's 34th district in Kern County. He says California's energy producers are ready to make up the difference.
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According to Fong, Kern County is responsible for more than 70% of the state's oil production.
"We can make up the difference. We do not need to be importing as much oil from Russia or other sources of energy from other countries. We can do it here in CA," said Fong.
The Republican lawmaker said the state's high gas prices have been a problem long before the invasion of Ukraine.
"California energy producers have been stuck in red tape trying to get permits to allow them to increase domestic energy production. Those permits should be approved immediately," said Fong.
Meanwhile, experts say drivers can save money by simply dropping their speeds.
"A lot of it is simply being a little bit easier on the gas, reducing the pace of acceleration. If you're punching the gas all the time, that's obviously fuel you're burning much more inefficiently," said Patrick De Haan, Head of Petroleum Analysis for GasBuddy.
