BCUC Continuing Fuel Pricing Investigations

VANCOUVER, BC, March 11, 2022 /CNW/ - Today, the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) announced a continuation of its fuel pricing investigations, that will focus on gathering further data from fuel wholesale marketers and select retail stations in British Columbia (BC). In the Final Report for its Gasoline and Diesel Prices Inquiry in 2019, the BCUC was unable to reconcile certain costs associated with the wholesale price of gasoline and diesel. By collecting additional information, the BCUC will develop a greater understanding of wholesale prices in BC and also how retail prices are set in the selected cities.

This project (Exploration Project #3), will include the collection of data related to margins on reportable fuel sales, volumes, and transport costs for the past three years, from fuel wholesalers who supply retail stations in BC. In addition, select retail stations located in Metro Vancouver, Powell River, Revelstoke, and Squamish and stations near these cities (for comparison purposes) will be required to submit further data related to reportable fuel sales operations, gross margins, and transport costs. These cities were selected as they were observed as having the highest retail fuel prices and retail margins during Exploration Project #1.

Following the BCUC's first exploration project, which examined fuel market prices in 11 cities across BC and concluded in December 2020, staff provided their observations and suggested areas to explore further in a Fuel Market Report. The BCUC then launched a second data collection project (Exploration Project #2) to do a similar analysis for an additional 12 cities. This work is ongoing and is expected to conclude in June 2022. The third project is a continuation of the first, as the BCUC seeks to find more information for cities that were part of the initial Exploration Project.

For information about the BCUC's exploration projects, please visit https://www.gaspricesbc.ca/SpecialProjects.

Background

As Administrator of BC's Fuel Price Transparency Act (FPT Act), the BCUC is responsible for collecting and publishing information about gasoline and diesel fuel activities in BC, in an effort to promote competitiveness, and public confidence in the competitiveness of the fuel market.

From June 2020 to December 2020, the BCUC conducted its first data exploration project (Exploration Project #1) to examine fuel market prices in select BC cities. Retail fuel pricing data was collected from the Oil Price Information Service and Kalibrate Canada Inc. (formerly Kent Group Ltd.) for 11 cities – Kamloops, Kelowna, West Kelowna, Port Alberni, Powell River, Revelstoke, Squamish, Vernon, Langley, Nanaimo, and Metro Vancouver. The BCUC staff's analysis and observations were published in the BCUC's Fuel Market Report, issued in March 2021.

In addition, from June 2021 to June 2022, the BCUC is conducting a second data collection project (Exploration Project #2) for an additional 12 cities – Campbell River, Chetwynd, Chilliwack, Cranbrook, Duncan, Gibsons, Hope, Merritt, Penticton, Salmon Arm, Terrace, and Williams Lake for a similar analysis.

About the BCUC

The BCUC is an independent regulatory body, responsible for regulating BC's energy utilities, as well as its compulsory automobile insurance rates, and intra-provincial pipeline rates. The BCUC is also responsible for administering BC's Fuel Price Transparency Act. It is the BCUC's role to balance the interests of customers with the interests of the businesses it regulates. The BCUC carries out fair and transparent reviews of matters within its jurisdiction and considers public input where public interest is impacted.

SOURCE British Columbia Utilities Commission

Krissy Van Loon, Manager, Communications, Phone: [phone], Email: [email protected]