With the elimination of the fuel caps in southern British Columbia Tuesday, one expert says drivers can expect to start paying more at the pumps.
Roger McKnight, Senior Petroleum Analyst with En-Pro International says he doesn’t expect the increase to be dramatic.
“I think you’ll probably see a movement of about two to three cents, I wouldn’t call that a spike considering the history of prices in the Lower Mainland,” he says.
Restrictions on fill-ups in BC being lifted also means the price caps fuel providers have been under are also being eliminated. A senior fuel analyst with @EnProGroupLtd says prices are likely to rise by 2 to 3-cents per liter, don't expect gouging at the pumps. @CityNewsVAN pic.twitter.com/k91rQWqEwm
— Paul James (小保) (@pjimmyradio) December 13, 2021
Despite the holiday season, McKnight says he doesn’t think there will be a big spike in demand, particularly since COVID-19 is still preventing some travel and people are still avoiding some in-person shopping.
“Having products delivered to their front door has really slowed down demand this holiday period. The other thing we have is the COVID variant, the threats seem to change from day today. So, it’s a moving target.”
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He says looking ahead to 2022, an anticipated carbon tax increase in April will also impact gas prices.
“We’ll have a carbon tax increase next year on April the first which will add another three cents of the price of the gasoline.”
Starting Tuesday, drivers can fill up a full tank of gas without restrictions.
People in southwest B.C., on Vancouver Island, and on the Sunshine Coast have been limited to 30 litres per visit to the gas station. Emergency and essential vehicles had unrestricted access to fuel.