California Retail Fuel Outlet Annual Reporting (CEC-A15) Results

The Petroleum Industry Information Reporting Act (PIIRA) requires all retail transportation fueling stations in California to file a Retail Fuel Outlet Annual Report (CEC-A15) with the California Energy Commission (CEC). These stations report retail sales of gasoline, diesel, and other transportation fuels.

  • A15 sales data represents nearly 86 percent of total gasoline consumed in California.
  • A15 survey response totals will not reach 100 percent of estimated total consumption of gasoline from one year to the next since.
    • Not all locations dispensing fuel to end-users are required to report sales to the CEC, estimated to be 5 to 8 percent of statewide totals.
    • Not all retail locations respond to the survey, estimated 2 to 5 percent of statewide volume.

Number of Retail Fuel Stations by Fuel – Survey Responses

Reporting YearGasolineDiesel5E851PropaneNatural Gas2Total Stations
Survey Responses*		Total Stations
Estimated
20107,7073,71536679427,9659,800
20118,0363,94242809488,3439,710
20127,7483,84751805328,03810,219
20137,0443,57959699467,29310,076
20146,3693,41656714296,59410,080
20157,2404,095815731397,51610,309
20168,4564,7901116511648,92410,481
20178,3534,8541273491428,87210,353
20188,2564,8731483811558,68410,266
20198,2694,9581813011218,71310,449
20208,6805,2242383231689,06310,862
20217,9974,9662873071648,43510,423
20228,1615,3053222451888,64110,742
20238,4355,5113682662048,94710,957
20248,6115,6324892131869,11711,084
20258,3755,4984661971828,94410,981

Source: California Energy Commission
*Stations by fuel type will not equal total respondents due to stations often dispensing multiple fuel types.

Estimated Number of Gasoline Stations by county

 

Retail Sales Volumes – Survey Responses (Million Gallons)

Reporting YearGasolineDieselE851PropaneNatural Gas2
201012,2381,2852.0032.644.09
201112,6441,3463.8919.827.26
201212,2411,3275.1225.446.60
201311,4181,2617.3113.996.17
201410,2201,2264.9918.233.94
201512,0441,59211.9913.8341.19
201613,7871,74316.859.0945.16
201713,9361,71723.016.2445.61
201813,5781,60232.044.0437.82
201913,4731,55937.253.1617.57
202011,2621,56034.863.5141.1
202111,6181,61155.353.4646.87
202211,4951,84691.452.4952.97
202311,6852,01695.251.7485.65
202411,6811,904101.81.4461.17
202511,3061,90797.672.3492.01

Source: California Energy Commission

A15 Report Responses vs. California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) (Million Gallons)

Reporting YearCEC-A15 Reported
Gasoline Volumes		% DifferencesCDTFA3
Gasoline
Taxable		CEC-A15
Reported Diesel
Volumes		CDTFA4 Taxable
Diesel Sales
201012,23817.6 %14,8611,2852,590
201112,64413.4 %14,6061,3462,622
201212,24112.7 %14,4861,3272,603
201311,39421.6 %14,5401,2612,740
201410,22030.4 %14,7011,2262,776
201512,04420.3 %15,1081,5922,825
201613,78711.0 %15,4921,7433,005
201713,93610.6 %15,5841,7173,124
201813,47512.9 %15,4711,6013,074
201913,47312.3%15,3651,5593,086
202011,26210.4%12,5721,5602,979
202111,61815.9%13,8181,6113,141
202211,49515.7%13,6401,8463,067
202311,68513.9%13,5762,0162,982
202411,68113.0%13,4231,9042,968
202511,30614.2%13,1761,9072,863

Source: California Energy Commission
Note: CDTFA tracks all gasoline and diesel sales in California for taxation purposes, but accounts for those sales at the finished fuel terminal level where taxation first occurs. Because of this, CDTFA gasoline and diesel sales have no regional dimension available. The CEC-A15 tracks fuel sales at the retail level, station by station, but since the current number of stations is constantly changing and the full station population is unknown, staff uses the total known CDTFA gasoline and diesel sales figures as a benchmark to achieve in data collection efforts. Differences in these two figures estimate the amount of sales underreported in CEC-A15 results.

Estimated Gasoline Sales by county

 

California Annual Retail Fuel Outlet Report Results (CEC-A15)

The following Excel file contains annual CEC-A15 results and analyses summarized in county level tables for station counts, gasoline sales, and diesel sales. Figures in the workbooks graphically display the gasoline sales and diesel sales tables.

A15 Survey Responses – Gasoline Sales (Million Gallons) By Municipality

The following Excel file is the total aggregated sales volume of gasoline at retail locations that completed the A15 survey by municipality and by year.

Data does not represent total consumption of gasoline in a municipality due to:

  • Missing sales volumes from non-retail locations not required to respond to the A15.
  • Missing sales volumes from retail locations that did not respond to the A15 survey during a particular year.

A15 Top 30 Cities - Survey Responses Gasoline Sales (Million Gallons)

RankCity201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
1LOS ANGELES462490578597553551439474452461452409
2SAN DIEGO383430458478464455351345343352350334
3SACRAMENTO174256279284264278249220230222233255
4SAN JOSE218287324319298311235263254221248233
5BAKERSFIELD169181221217205204195187200203207203
6FRESNO108154185192176159158150162165164161
7RIVERSIDE115127147148154143129134136140133123
8LONG BEACH1251201301291271251021089196102109
9CHULA VISTA791031111081121058684839610195
10CORONA110111112122110113858585919794
11FONTANA757897949198829191918794
12STOCKTON80951091091021071009210011010086
13SANTA ANA818185848386667267697385
14SAN BERNARDINO718186969187859184969084
15ANAHEIM96115136135129121929794979383
16ESCONDIDO627377777781717067696982
17SAN FRANCISCO71107120120105107778185707877
18MODESTO709610310710289808586878576
19OXNARD646972808581686768677174
20OAKLAND517383898680706267678073
21ROSEVILLE557280847885707667766671
22IRVINE787984888785637063666570
23TORRANCE758493848480636766707169
24SANTA ROSA607083837576667269667165
25GARDEN GROVE566277726864586263606664
26FREMONT647785877674555758546364
27LANCASTER475059615858555853555962
28HUNTINGTON BEACH666374737067606060616862
29ONTARIO7670110989284757175677462
30SALINAS437382737471637063666662

Source: California Energy Commission

Methodology for Estimating Stations and Sales

Using a statistical resampling methodology, staff estimates the total gasoline station population by matching gasoline sales reported by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA). This is done by using a subset of the CEC-A15 reporting stations to estimate the characteristics of the missing fueling station population. Since large fueling retailer chains are easier to survey due to their visibility, the resampling is weighted toward smaller retailers as it is assumed they are the primary non-responders to this report.

1 According to the Air Resources Board (ARB), E-85 dispensed, in California, averages 78 percent ethanol and 22 percent gasoline depending on the month of the year and geographical location.
2 Natural Gas survey responses are measured in Gasoline Gallon Equivalent (GGE).
3 Source: California Energy Commission (CEC) analysis of California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) taxable gasoline figures.
4 Source: CDTFA taxable diesel figures which include taxable retail sales and taxable non-retail sales.
5 The California Energy Commission including all diesel blend, biodiesel, and renewable diesel as diesel product starting reporting year 2022.

Transportation Energy

CONTACT

Media and Public Communications Office
mediaoffice@energy.ca.gov
916-654-4989