L.A. Refinery Shut Down By Power Outage, Raising Gas Price Concerns

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Southern California Edison is investigating the cause of a widespread power outage that forced the shutdown of a Los Angeles County refinery and raised concerns that gasoline prices in the region may temporarily go up.

The utility says more than 57,000 customers lost power Monday in Gardena, Hawthorne, Inglewood and parts of Los Angeles and Torrance.

The Los Angeles Times says the outage was enough to cut production temporarily at the Torrance refinery, which PBF Energy bought from Exxon Mobil in July. PBF says it could take days to return the plant to full service.

An explosion at the refinery last year caused it to operate at less than 20 percent capacity for months, sending gasoline prices in Southern California to as much as $1.50 above the rest of the nation.

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