The Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission approved the following petroleum pricing decisions, effective 12:01 a.m., Sunday, February 15, 2015:
• Gasoline prices will increase by 3.0 cents per litre (cpl);
• Furnace and stove oil prices will increase by 3.5 cpl;
• Diesel prices will increase by 3.8 cpl; and
• There will be no change in propane prices at this time.
Including adjustments for taxes, pump prices for regular unleaded gasoline at self-serve outlets will now range from 103.3 cpl to 104.4 cpl.
The maximum price for furnace oil will now amount to 92.0 cpl plus tax.
Substantial increases in the wholesale price of all three petroleum products observed over the past week now necessitate this price adjustment.
Significant speculative trading activity in the commodity markets that set the base price of crude oil, gasoline and furnace oil continues to be observed. This upward pressure on wholesale prices is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.
Prince Edward Island is not alone in facing rising petroleum product prices. The regulated prices of gasoline, furnace oil and diesel in all four Atlantic Canadian provinces and indeed across the country continued to increase over the past week. For comparative purposes, regular self-serve gasoline in Halifax is currently 102.1 cpl vs Charlottetown at 103.3 cpl, while maximum furnace oil prices (taxes included) in New Brunswick amount to 109.6 vs 96.6 cpl in Prince Edward Island.
The Commission's next scheduled price adjustment will be on March 1, 2015.