Gas prices throughout the province dropped significantly overnight Monday as the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board invoked its “interrupter” clause.
The new minimum for self serve regular gasoline is 79.4 cents per litre, a drop of 9.7 cents from the night before.
The NSUARB changed the price is used to respond to sudden and significant spikes in petroleum product prices. It allows the board to interrupt the regular weekly setting of prices at midnight on Thursday to reset the price for the security of supply.
It was invoked last week, causing prices in Nova Scotia to drop below $1 to the lowest prices seen in the province since August of 2016.
The NSUARB couldn’t confirm that the fluctuation is tied to COVID-19, although the global pandemic has previously been linked to lower gas prices.
That’s attributed to the collapse of an oil supply cut agreement between Saudi Arabia and Russia, coupled with uncertainty and less demand for oil amid the COVID-19 outbreak, according to petroleum analyst Roger McKnight.
With files from Alexander Quon.