Post-carbon tax fuel prices to be monitored in B.C.

VANCOUVER, B.C. — With the removal of B.C’s customer carbon tax, the organization responsible for collecting data on fuel will be monitoring the price changes on the horizon. 

The British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) has announced it will be ensuring companies are “passing on savings” related to the removal of the provincial customer carbon tax. 

The commission began observing retail pricing behaviours across B.C. prior to the removal of the carbon tax as the administrator of the Fuel Price Transparency Act, a piece of legislation introduced in November 2019 requiring companies in the provincial fuel industry to report data and information on their activities. 

In its role as administrator, BCUC is responsible for “collecting and publishing information about gasoline and diesel activities in B.C. in an effort to promote competitiveness and public confidence in the competitiveness of the fuel market.” 

In a press release on March 31st, BCUC explained it anticipates prices at the pump to reflect the removal of the carbon tax. 

From April 1st onwards, the commission stated it will be collecting data and information from retail stations “to provide clarity on how quickly fuel prices reflect the removal” in the province’s large and small retail markets. 

One day before the carbon tax’s removal, gasoline in B.C. was 17.61 cents per litre and diesel was 20.74 cents per liter.