B.C.’s gas rationing extended as Trans Mountain Pipeline remains shut down

B.C.’s fuel rationing has been extended until Dec. 14, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said Monday.

The general public in Metro Vancouver, on Vancouver Island, and other parts of southwestern B.C. will continue to be restricted to only 30 litres of gas per visit to a gas station.

This means the following areas are affected:

• Lower Mainland to Hope
• Sea to Sky
• Sunshine Coast
• Gulf Islands
• Vancouver Island

This extension comes as the Trans Mountain Pipeline remains shut down.

It could restart at a reduced capacity this week, the company said in a statement Friday.

1:53 B.C. floods: Living life a quarter tank at a time

“Once restarted, delivery of oil and refined products currently in the line will continue as they progress to their delivery points at either Kamloops, Sumas, or Burnaby. After initial start-up, a sustained effort will continue to return the system to its full capacity as soon as possible,” the statement read.

The pipeline has been shut down voluntarily since Sunday, Nov. 14, when an atmospheric river struck B.C.

2:09 B.C.’s fight for fuel: Trans Mountain hopes to restart pipeline at reduced capacity in days

Transportation Minister Rob Fleming said Friday that even without the pipeline, the province’s fuel supply is “holding steady.”

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Petroleum analyst Dan McTeague with Canadians for Affordable Energy said Friday the longer the Trans Mountain Pipeline is down, customers at the pumps will continue to see restricted purchases and some limited supply.

“Best-case scenario, we’re not going to see anything until the first, second week of December and possibly into Christmas before everything gets back into what we consider normal,” he said, adding that the Parkland Refinery in Burnaby, B.C., still has to resume operations as well.

There is a long list of vehicles that are not capped at 30 litres.

This includes:

• Emergency service vehicles (fire, police, ambulance and health care including urgent medical treatment)
• Public transit vehicles
• Commercial transport trucks – critical goods and services (food and beverage, health care, safety)
• Refrigerated trucks
• Potable water delivery/wastewater service
• Grocery delivery
• Road repair, maintenance and recovery vehicles/tow trucks
• Military vehicles
• Critical infrastructure, construction and repair vehicles
• Home-care workers
• Municipal services vehicles
• First Nations government services vehicles
• BC Ferries/Coast Guard/tugboats/marine emergency/pilot boats
• Canada Post and other couriers/package delivery vehicles
• Vehicles for the provision of critical government services
• Airport authority vehicles and air travel
• Waste disposal/recycling
• BC Hydro, Fortis and other heavy-duty and light-duty utility vehicles
• Telecommunication repair and installation vehicles
• Fuel delivery trucks and boats
• School buses
• Taxis
• Agricultural and farm-use vehicles, including vehicles supporting flood response
• Veterinarians supporting flood response
• Inter-city buses