Gas prices skyrocket in parts of Labrador as price freeze ends
Price shock as tankers arrive in parts of coastal Labrador.
The cost of some fuels has skyrocketed in parts of Labrador, after the province's fuel regulator lifted the annual price freeze for parts of the region's coast.
Prices for everything except propane are frozen on Labrador's south coast and the Strait of Belle Isle area in November, when the sea ice prevents tankers from getting in to resupply.
Those prices reflect the cost of fuel at the time — a cost that has soared dramatically since then, sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Now that the spring resupply has resumed, those price shocks are hitting pumps in some of coastal Labrador.
On Thursday, the Public Utilities Board allowed a 69-cent increase in gas prices, a $1.11 jump in diesel prices, and a jump of almost 97 cents in stove oil in Zones 10, 11 and 11b.
That means gas in the Labrador Straits now costs about $2.43 per litre, and $2.47 per litre on the south coast between Cartwright and Lodge Bay.
Diesel is now almost $2.98 per litre on the south coast, and $2.93 in the Straits.
While prices are still frozen in some other areas of Labrador — including the central and north coast regions — similar changes will happen in the coming weeks.
Prices up elsewhere
The cost of fuel is up elsewhere in Newfoundland and Labrador as well, with the PUB raising the maximum price of gasoline by 3.9 cents per litre.
The increase puts the price of a litre of unleaded self-serve at as much as $2.22 on the Avalon Peninsula.
Across the island, prices now sit at $2.24 per litre on the Burin Peninsula, around $2.25 per litre in central Newfoundland, $2.26 on the Baie Verte Peninsula, between $2.23 and $2.24 on the island's west coast and $2.26 per litre on the island's Northern Peninsula.
In Labrador, prices range from $2.28 in western Labrador and $2.31 in Churchill Falls to as much as $2.47 per litre in southern Labrador.
The price of diesel rose in Newfoundland Thursday, up 1.3 cents per litre to a maximum of $2.25 per litre on the Avalon Peninsula.
But in Labrador, the diesel price dropped 11.6 cents per litre, with per-litre prices now ranging from $1.71 in Central Labrador to $2.98 in southern Labrador.
Furnace oil increased 1.06 cents per litre Thursday morning, putting prices between $1.61 and $1.77 per litre across the province.
Stove oil also rose by 1.06 cent per litre amount in Newfoundland, but took a sharp decline in Labrador dropping 23.7 cents per litre.
Propane also decreased, dropping 1.8 cents per litre Thursday.
The following chart shows how gas prices have changed recently at Newfoundland and Labrador retailers, as reported by users of the GasBuddy.com website.
