Customers flock to opening day of Kelowna’s first Costco gas station for cheaper fuel

Prices at some Kelowna gas pumps are easing just in time for the holidays.

The Okanagan’s first 24-pump Costco gas station had a quiet opening Friday, offering a litre of regular gas for $1.349 and a litre of premium for $1.449.  It was a significant cost savings when compared to other pumps around the Central Okanagan, which were posting prices of $1.459 for a litre of regular fuel.

“We opened this morning and we’re pretty excited,” said Omara Escobar, general manager of the Kelowna Costco warehouse.

“We like to do soft openings. Sometimes we do have a date in mind and do our best to open earlier.”

Escobar said that they had 100 customers through in the first couple of hours, and a good number of them were Costco employees and people who lived near the gas bar. Both, she said, were excited to see it completed.

That was certainly the case for those who were filling up.

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“I should have brought my pickup; I like the price,” a customer named Chris said. ”I love the idea (of this opening in Kelowna) because in other jurisdictions it keeps the price a little lower. This might be an opening special, but $134.9 … that’s a good price. “

Others also said they were pleased with the cost savings, noting they hoped it stayed that way.

Whether that’s the case remains to be seen.

In Kamloops, which has long had a Costco gas bar, the price on Friday was $1.399, while other gas stations around the city were offering higher prices than was the average in Kelowna.

Gas prices around other points across the city ranged from $149.9 to $146.9, according to GasWizard.ca.

Dan McTeague, senior petroleum analyst from GasWizard.ca, said the wholesale cost of gas from the supplier right now is $1.34, and retailers usually raise their price somewhere from 10 to 15 cents a litre to make a profit.  If they were to go as low as Costco today, they would struggle to match Costco prices.

“(Costco) offers gasoline at cost to their consumer because they don’t have to do what other gas stations do, which is honour all credit cards,” McTeague said. “They only honour their own, which is MasterCard and the membership fee that goes with it, which is somewhere from $80 to $100 a year.”

In the days ahead, however, McTeague said those Costco-adjacent gas station operators may speak with suppliers to see if they can lower their costs and pass the savings onto the consumer.

The gas station’s opening precedes the opening of the new, larger store which was approved by council last year.

Martin Groleau, the company’s vice-president and general merchandising manager, said earlier this week that they were hoping to open the gas station in the second week of December, but had expected to push it back until as far away as January.

“The warehouse will open in February 2022; I cannot confirm the exact date,” Groleau added.

Escobar couldn’t offer any insight into the opening of the store, either, but did say that the building is “looking excellent so far” and they are looking forward to opening in the spring.

The gas station will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

While the gas station opening was met with fanfare, it and the new, larger store have not been built without controversy.

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The new store, bounded by Springfield, Leckie and Baron roads, was met with dozens of letters of opposition at a council meeting this January, with area residents citing everything from property devaluation from constant noise, increased traffic, a non-stop flow of shoppers and lost agricultural land as a concern.