'It's gone up again?' P.E.I. gas prices leap in wake of hurricane
Kevin Yarr, Steve Bruce | CBC News | Posted: September 6, 2017 9:59 AM | Last Updated: September 7, 2017
Some drivers surprised Wednesday morning by unscheduled price adjustment
Some Island drivers were caught off guard Wednesday morning, when they arrived at the pumps to see fuel prices had shot up 8 cents a litre to $1.20 for regular, self-serve gasoline.
"Oh my goodness, I knew it went up on the first [of the month.] But it's gone up again?" asked Wendy Large.
"I didn't know about this until I started driving into town, and saw it on the first gas station I came to," added Drew Hansen.
"If it keeps going up and up, I'll just have to make a decision how much I want to run around in the car."
Hurricane Harvey to blame, says regulator
Tuesday night's unscheduled price adjustment came just six days after the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC) raised the price a few cents in its regular, start-of-the-month review.
Over those six days, IRAC says the wholesale price of fuel shot up dramatically, forcing the unscheduled adjustment.
"That's primarily due to to the impact of Hurricane Harvey and the resulting impact it had on refining capacity in the southern United States," said Allison MacEwen, IRAC's Director of Regulatory Services.
If it keeps going up and up, I'll just have to make a decision how much I want to run around in the car. - Drew Hansen
That explanation didn't sit well with some drivers Wednesday.
"I'm pretty sure there's lots of reserves on hand. It's a gouge for sure," said Allan Clark.
"It doesn't make any sense because we've got refineries in Canada as well," added Hansen. "So it shouldn't have that much effect on what's happening here."
Low U.S. supply driving up demand
But MacEwen says as the supply of oil in the southern U.S. has dropped off in the past week, that's increased the demand for oil from Canadian refineries.
"So there's a competition for product that occurs there and it [drives] the wholesale price up," explained MacEwen.
Retail prices are rising across the continent, and MacEwen points out the P.E.I. price is still below the Canadian average of $1.23/litre.
John Wincey, who owns Wilson's Gas Stop in Charlottetown, said he doesn't expect the current price will keep Islanders from driving.
"It's been a lot higher than this before," said Wincey. "We've seen fuel sales go down when it was up around $1.40 or $1.45. But at $1.20 I don't think they will."
Another price jump possible
Other petroleum product prices also shot up Wednesday morning, as a result of IRAC's unscheduled adjustment.
- Heating oil prices up 4.0 cents per litre to $0.763.
- Diesel prices up 3.0 cents per litre to $1.127
IRAC will meet before the end of this week to review prices again. MacEwen says it's hard to predict at this point whether Islanders should brace for another hike.
"There's another hurricane in the works, and the track of that is a little uncertain," he said. "So that will have a bearing on how prices will go over the next week or so."
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