B.C.B次元官网网址檚 requirement to continue reducing the B次元官网网址渃arbon intensityB次元官网网址� of its gasoline and diesel until 2020 is unique in Canada, and fuel suppliers argue this is one reason why prices are higher than surrounding jurisdictions.
B.C. matched the federal low-carbon fuel standard of a five per cent reduction in carbon intensity in 2010, and went further, requiring a 10 per cent reduction by 2020. Similar regulations are in place in California and Oregon, but not in other Canadian provinces.
The reduction is typically achieved by blending plant-based ethanol with gasoline or vegetable-based fuels with diesel, which can cost more and requires additional storage and blending.
The B.C. Utilities Commission delivered on high fuel prices last week, as directed by the B.C. government in May after gasoline and diesel prices hit record levels. Premier John Horgan suggested profit taking by oil companies was the main reason, and directed that taxes and other government policies such as the low-carbon fuel standard should not be considered.
Here's the current breakdown of provincial taxes on gasoline by B.C. region
B次元官网网址� Tom Fletcher (@tomfletcherbc)
Companies testified about the effect of government policies anyway, and some argued that biofuel costs are a factor.
In a , then-energy minister Bill Bennett said lowering the carbon intensity of fuels further B次元官网网址渋s achievable through the use of emerging fuels; for example, gasoline made from natural gas, lower carbon diesel produced through advanced bitumen refining, and renewable diesel made from vegetable oils or tallow.B次元官网网址�
BCUC chair David Morton said that taxes aside, there is an B次元官网网址渦nexplainedB次元官网网址� 13-cent increase in southwestern B.C. gasoline prices compared with the U.S. Pacific Northwest, where the spot wholesale price for urban B.C. is set.
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In northern B.C. there is a six per cent jump in price compared to Edmonton where that regionB次元官网网址檚 wholesale spot price is set, taking into account refinery disruptions, crude prices and other industry factors.
B次元官网网址淧rices in the Metro Vancouver region are higher by an unexplained 13 cents a litre, and theyB次元官网网址檙e higher than would be expected under more competitive conditions,B次元官网网址� Morton said as he released the report. B次元官网网址淭here is no evidence to suggest collusion among the retail operators exists, nor is there evidence of cartel behaviour.B次元官网网址�
The price gap for B.C. calculates out to $490 million a year in extra sales revenue for suppliers, which Jobs, Trade and Technology Minister Bruce Ralston claimed shows B.C. residents are being B次元官网网址渞ipped offB次元官网网址� due to a lack of wholesale competition.
B次元官网网址淥ur government is concerned with the allocation of refined gasoline flowing into B.C. as well as the lack of transparency around how the price of gas is set,B次元官网网址� Ralston said.
In B.C., provincial tax on a litre of gasoline currently amounts to 34.39 cents per litre for Metro Vancouver, including 17 cents to fund TransLink operations. Victoria region transit tax adds 5.5 cents, and across the province carbon tax currently adds 8.89 cents. Another 6.75 cents applies across B.C. to fund the , a Crown corporation that owns all provincial highways and land held for future infrastructure.
tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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