Retail gasoline prices in B.C. dipped slightly during August from near-record high levels, despite increases in refining and retailing margins, according to a new independent tracking service.
The B.C. Utilities Commission has launched a to report the latest factors in fuel prices, after the NDP government passed the Fuel Price Transparency Act in 2019 to determine why prices in B.C. run higher than Alberta and the Canadian average.
The commissionB次元官网网址檚 fuel price website, , includes a dashboard that tracks prices in urban communities around the province, and provides the latest corporate and tax data to compare with B.C., Alberta and the national average.
Premier John Horgan directed the commission to hold hearings on fuel prices after regular gasoline hit as high as $1.70 per litre in 2018, as his government continued court action in a failed effort to stop the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project. Horgan accused suppliers of taking too much profit, while excluding B.C.B次元官网网址檚 rising fuel taxes from the inquiryB次元官网网址檚 mandate.
Those hearings concluded without determining the source of the price gap, which shows up mostly in higher margins for B.C.B次元官网网址檚 scarce refining capacity. Since then, the commission has worked with fuel producers on what information can be made public and what remains confidential for competitive reasons.
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Parkland Corp. took over ChevronB次元官网网址檚 Burnaby refinery, southern B.C.B次元官网网址檚 last remaining plant producing gasoline and diesel, in 2017. Parkland told the commission hearing that B.C.B次元官网网址檚 lack of crude supply pushes up prices, with the Trans Mountain pipeline running full and oversubscribed since 2015. Parkland has been forced to buy crude from as far away as California and the U.S. Gulf Coast to keep the Burnaby plant running, and Trans Mountain reports that its original 1950s pipeline is still and turning away orders as the expansion project nears completion.
Another factor in high B.C. gasoline prices is the provinceB次元官网网址檚 low-carbon fuel standard, which has compelled Parkland to to process B次元官网网址渂io-feedstocksB次元官网网址� such as animal fats and canola oil to meet the low-carbon requirements.
At the time of the hearings, more than half of Trans MountainB次元官网网址檚 crude capacity was being diverted to Washington State refineries, which then sell fuel into the B.C. market. The biggest Washington producer is BPB次元官网网址檚 Cherry Point refinery near Bellingham, built in 1954 to process Alberta crude from the Trans Mountain line and now also supplied with Alaska crude brought in by tankers.
tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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