EDMONTON – Edmontonians who were hoping the prices would drop after the long weekend are, instead, seeing even higher prices a week later.
Stations across the city are charging about $1.28 per litre – that’s 20 cents more than what motorists were paying around the beginning of the month.
While prices are normally higher in the summer, this jump at the pumps is due to an unexpected shut-down at the Suncor Refinery.
Regular maintenance was scheduled for April, but it was originally only supposed to only last five weeks. The discovery of some problems with pipeline corrosion is what led to the shut-down.
“So now they have to get the parts, they have to do other work…now they don’t have enough gasoline. What they have to bring in is by trucks and trains to try and meet the demand,” explains Richard Dixon, executive director of Natural Resources, Energy and Environment at the University of Alberta.
So as Suncor is forced to import fuel from refineries in eastern Canada and the United States, gas prices for the prairies are being inflated to accommodate the extra costs, drop in supply, and increased demand from summer road trippers.
Cab drivers are just one of the groups feeling the pinch.
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“Our drivers take in the fares from the customers and then they buy their fuel with it so obviously it affects their bottom lines significantly because its gone up a fair bit, says Phil Strong, President of Yellow Cab.
“The only good thing about it is it’s not the middle of the winter and guys don’t have to idle their cars all day long, so they can turn their car off in the summer months. But it’s still a cost to the drivers, they don’t like it.”
He adds that in the past, fares have gone up as a result of gas prices. Like everyone, though, Strong hopes the current price drops soon.
According to Dixon, that might not be happen until after the July long weekend. He predicts gas prices could fall to around $1.15 a litre then, and could be back down to about $1.00 a litre by fall.
Edmonton’s record price for gas was $1.35 in 2008. The difference is, back then, the price of oil was near $146 a barrel; today it’s at $94.
The high cost of fuel isn’t bad news for everyone. It means more money for the federal government, as GST is tied to the price of gas.
“Whether gas is 50 cents per litre or 1.50 per litre, the Alberta government collects 9 cents of that,” explains Scott Hennig of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “So it doesn’t matter to them that the price has gone up. But the feds will collect more money. They will be collecting 5 per cent so it does make a difference when its a $1.30 versus $1.00 That’s a big chunk of extra cash.”
Here’s a look at what other Canadian cities are paying for fuel right now:
To find how gas prices compare across Edmonton, you can visit GasBuddy.com.
With files from Shannon Greer, Global News
Follow @TrishKozicka
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