Nanaimo will feature heavily in a second round of review on gas prices in British Columbia, serving as a comparison community for the BC Utilities Commission. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

GAS GREED

Nanaimo used as comparison city during extended gas price inquiry

Jun 16, 2020 | 3:55 PM

NANAIMO — The BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) is taking a closer look at historically expensive gas prices in British Columbia.

Port Alberni, Squamish, Powell River and Revelstoke will be the focus for the BCUC, with both Nanaimo and Langley serving as comparison cities to determine if those communities are needlessly paying more.

David Morton, CEO of the BCUC told NanaimoNewsNOW the harbour city was chosen because it is influential in setting the wholesale price of the island’s gas supply.

“Nanaimo is a price setter on the Island because they’re the published wholesale price for gasoline sold at the rack in Nanaimo,” Morton said.

During a three month survey, the BCUC will anonymously collect credit card transaction data for fill-ups throughout the day showing the date and time of purchase, how much gas was bought and at what price.

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Collecting more specific data will allow the Commission and government to identify issues across B.C.

“Just because we’ve done this with these four communities, doesn’t mean that we’re disregarding the rest of the province,” Morton said. “We’re taking this step now as a pilot project to see what we potentially can find out and how easy it is to collect data.”

Renewed focus from the BCUC came about due to public pressure from the four communities chosen for review.

Morton said residents in Squamish alleged station operators are matching Vancouver pricing and pocketing the taxes added to gas in metro Vancouver.

In Powell River, prices were locked around $1.60 per litre for months during 2018 and 2019, well above what neighbouring communities were shelling out.

“What we saw on the Coast versus on the Island was sometimes upwards 15 or 20 cents difference…there were times the discrepancy was remarkable,” Powell River NDP MLA Nicholas Simons said.

A public inquiry in summer 2019 showed a “significant unexplained difference” of around 13 cents per litre between pricing in some areas of British Columbia and other places throughout the Pacific Northwest.

alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley