'Why are we being charged so much?' Comparing gas prices across B.C. causes confusion
Credit to Author: Glenda Luymes| Date: Sat, 16 Nov 2019 01:12:17 +0000
Almost three-quarters of the letters sent to the B.C. Utilities Commission in response to its recent report on gas prices came from one community — and it wasn’t Vancouver.
In its second report released Tuesday, the province’s independent energy regulator noted that of the 41 letters sent to it by members of the public, 29 were from Powell River residents.
Unlike Metro Vancouver, where price fluctuations have led to frustration at the pumps, prices in the northern Sunshine Coast community have been stuck at 159.9 per litre for much of the summer and fall. On Friday, gas at the Petro-Canada station on Joyce Avenue was still 159.9, according to GasBuddy.com, although other nearby stations were charging a few cents less. Across the water in Courtenay, the price was 129.9.
“Our gas in Powell River … is the most expensive in North America,” one resident wrote to the BCUC. “Powell River does not have a transit tax, so how is this happening? Why are we being charged so much?”
But the report was short on answers — both for residents of Powell River and other B.C. communities with inexplicably high gas prices. That includes Squamish, where residents have planned a series of protests to draw attention to the difference between their gas prices and those in Vancouver and Pemberton. It also includes Chilliwack, where online message boards frequently highlight price discrepancies with neighbouring Abbotsford.
“A more comprehensive study on a market-by-market basis would lead to … a better understanding of any problems that exist within communities and could be useful in helping determine future steps that may be taken to address them,” said the report.
The president of the Powell River Chamber of Commerce welcomed further study.
“We’re pro-business, of course, but it’s hard to understand when prices have stayed the same for such a long time,” said Telis Savvaidis. “If it’s 123 (cents per litre) at the Costco on Vancouver Island, but 159 here, it looks like we’re being gouged.”
High gas prices impact businesses that export products from the Sunshine Coast as they are also hit with cost of the ferry, both leaving and returning to Powell River, he added.
Price gouging may also be a factor in Squamish, where residents have begun holding protests in front of local gas stations.
“There are people here who haven’t bought gas in Squamish for months,” said organizer Patricia Carlin. “If they commute to Vancouver, they fill up there.”
Squamish’s prices are typically higher than those in Vancouver, even though there is no TransLink tax outside Metro Vancouver. While gas prices in Vancouver were between 129 and 132 on Friday, the cheapest gas in Squamish was 143.9, according to GasBuddy.com. While some of the difference might be attributed to transportation costs, gas in Pemberton, almost 100 kilometres further north on Highway 99, was 132.9.
Whistler business owner Beric Pocklington estimates filling up in Squamish costs his roofing company an additional $10,000 a year.
“The gas companies think they can get away with it,” he said. “We hope to be demonstrating every Sunday to show drivers that it’s not a good idea to fuel up here.”
This weekend’s protest will be at 10 a.m. at the Petro-Canada near McDonald’s.
Gas analyst Dan McTeague said the prices in every B.C. community begin at the same point — the wholesale gas price. Transportation costs, such as the ferry to Powell River, impact the price at the pump, as do taxes, such as Metro Vancouver’s TransLink tax, as well as the origin of the gas. Communities in northern B.C. that get their gas from Edmonton typically have lower prices than those on the coast.
But when prices don’t fluctuate at all, “it’s a sign the prices are overdue for a correction,” said the president of Canadians for Affordable Energy.
In some communities it may take seven to 10 days before supplies of gas purchased at the former price run out, but after that, if prices remain high, it’s likely due to retail margin.
“That’s a pretty hefty chunk of retail margin,” said McTeague after looking at Squamish’s prices.