While a series of storms didn’t pack the wallop forecasted for the south coast, it may have had an impact on the price at the pumps.
The cost of gas is more than $1.30 a litre across much of Metro Vancouver as of Monday and experts pointed to the bad weather as the main culprit.
“A lot of it has to do with the inability for two of the four refineries south of the border to get their gasoline up to Canada via barge,” Dan McTeague, a petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com, said.
READ MORE: Saturday storm leaves many in southern B.C. underwhelmed
When it comes to skyrocketing gas prices, consumers are often given the usual list of reasons: a low Canadian loonie, a refinery somewhere that needs to be refurbished etc.
But increased demand from a storm that didn’t quite come to pass is a new one.
“The realities on the high seas, that makes a little bit of a different situation,” McTeague said. “Demand had not changed; supply, of course, was disrupted.”
While the same storm hit several states on the west coast of the U.S., gas prices there remained stable.
Canadian consumers aren’t impressed.
“That’s a lie,” gas station customer Martin Rourke said of the idea weather has contributed to increased gas prices. “Come on, these places are full of gas and they can handle almost anything. Really, we’re being manipulated by people who want to make the profit.”
– With files from John Hua
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