Prince George drivers could be shelling out more money to fuel their vehicles.
Dan McTeague with Canadians for Affordable Energy says the PG-area could see gas prices close to two bucks a litre within the next year – citing factors like a weak loonie, carbon taxes and rising oil prices.
McTeague told MyPGNow.com this scenario isn’t too far-fetched.
“Go back to where we were in the summer, where you had some refinery upsets, higher demand and you could see a scenario develop where a buck-seventy-five would be the new reality especially as we keep marching to ever-increasing carbon taxes.”
McTeague noted the northern capital is more than a quarter of the way there when it comes to the potential two-dollar threshold.
“So, if you are looking at the ten cents you are paying in the first carbon tax, multiplying it by a factor of four that becomes forty cents, and of course with any additional increases as a result of oil going from a hundred to a hundred and twenty dollars a barrel, which many people believe will be the case over the next year, it’s easy to see a scenario where gas prices reach a dollar-seventy-five cents a litre here in Prince George.”
However, even if prices do go up, don’t expect local gas stations to be making money hand over fist.
“I doubt they will make any more money than they are making now or perhaps they will lose less money than they are losing now. This isn’t about the retail margins of seven, eight or nine cents a litre. Right now, the margins are at about four cents a litre,” added McTeague.
McTeague believes the world is divided into two camps when it comes to the oil and gas industry.
“The one that says we have to get rid of fossil fuels and the other one saying the reality is getting rid of fossil fuels only leads to significantly higher prices for everything, not just gasoline and diesel but now, we are seeing the overall full effects of inflation.”
In addition, the loonie, which is just over 81 cents US (as of this publication) has not performed well even with the higher oil prices.
“That should be a concern to all Canadians. We are simply not selling enough of our energy products to the rest of the world, especially the United States, and as a result, our purchasing power continues to be eroded by the fact the last time we saw 80-dollar a barrel oil we also had a Canadian dollar that was trading at or near par.”
Currently, most gas stations in Prince George are sitting at 143.9 cents per litre, while Costco remains the cheapest place to fuel up at 138.9.
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].
