Drivers wonder why fuel prices are up?
Posted Dec 29, 2010 2:09 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Calgary drivers are paying more to fill their tanks today than they did during most of the summer.
Most service stations boosted pump prices by as much as a nickel a litre, pushing prices above the dollar mark.
There is a difference of opinion as to why fuel prices are higher.
Michael Ervin with the Kent Group says the recent surge in world oil prices is the main reason why drivers are paying more, but he also points out fuel supplies are also tighter now than they were in June.
Liberal MP Dan McTeague disagrees.
McTeague says if drivers are upset they should direct their anger at the refiners.
He tells 660News it only costs about 2 or 3 cents a litre to turn crude into gasoline, yet refineries are charging up to 15 cents right now.
The current wholesale price of gas is just above 68 cents a litre in Edmonton, yet in Calgary is running at more than 71 cents a litre.
McTeague also says retailers have also decided to increase their take by a few cents a litre.
The man behind the website www.tomorrowsgaspricetoday.com says he will keep lobbying for better fuel price transparency, so Canadians know exactly where their driving dollars are going.
McTeague also says drivers need to remember that the tax man pockets about 30 per cent of every fuel dollar.
