Gas Gouging

Gas gouging is here again. The reason of course is that it is spring. And prices rise in the spring just like dandelions.

PILGRIM: Now, this spring, gas price is an annual event. In 22 of the last 23 years, prices have risen some time after March 15th and go up until about mid-May.

The Center for Policy Alternatives reports that Canadians are paying as much as 27 cents per litre too much for gas.

 "For example, drivers in Toronto are currently being overcharged 15 cents
per litre," Mackenzie says. The situation is the same across the country: 
in Halifax drivers arecurrently overpaying 19 cents per litre;
21 cents per litre in Winnipeg; 18 cents per litre in Edmonton;
and a whopping 27 cents per litre in Vancouver.

You can use their handy dandy tool to find out how much you are being
screwed by Big Oil.

And from GasBuddy.com

Edmonton
Today 104.855
Yesterday 104.877
One Week Ago 105.102
One Month Ago 98.740
One Year Ago 101.510

Using the above price for gas Hugh Mackenzie's Gas price gouge: The sequel.calculator finds that in Edmonton;

Your gas prices are 21.1¢ per litre above the normalized cost of 82.9¢ per litre in Edmonton
With today's crude oil price of $62.01 USD per barrel and the US dollar at $1.11 CAD, the price of regular unleaded gasoline in Edmonton should be 82.9¢ per litre at normal profit margins. At a price of $1.04 per litre, you are paying 21.1¢ per litre in pure excess profit. Across Canada, an extra margin of 21.1¢ per litre generates an additional profit of 21.1 million dollars per day

Further from Gasbuddy.com we find that prices for gas have steadily increased over the past six years.

"Expect even higher profits, especially during the second and third quarters, their busiest season," said Jason Toews, co-founder of gasbuddy.com, a website that compares gas prices across the country. Toews predicts prices will peak at $1.30 a litre for self-serve, regular unleaded by August. This means more money for Big Oil, while gas retailers, Toews says, are making very little.

And even if there is competition between Gas Stations over prices this happens; Wisconsin Gas Station Owner Ordered To Raise Prices

So much for the free market.

And even without provincial and federal taxes on gasoline, that Linda Letherdale and her pals at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation whine about, the price would still be going up.

Oil prices rose Thursday despite a U.S. report showing that stocks of gasoline, crude and distillate fuels all rose,

"At this point it doesn't even matter any more what the reasons behind the price rise are," said Bruce Cran, president of the Consumers' Association of Canada.

He said consumers are "exhausted and frustrated" and are being gouged at the pumps for reasons that aren't clear.

"We've got no satisfactory explanations as to why these huge price rises take place year after year," said Cran, whose group received hundreds of calls Tuesday from motorists looking for answers.

According to MJ Ervin & Associates Inc. a Calgary-based consulting firm, the national average price of gas on Tuesday was reported at about $1.10 a litre, up five cents from the average price in March and 19 cents from the average price in January.

"This is a trend that we see every spring," said Catherine Hay, Senior Associate with MJ Ervin and Associates.

"This is something that we see in anticipation of the big driving season every year," she said.

Hay said this time last year the national average gas price was $1.08, only two cents lower that this year

Just like dandelions

tags:

Canada, Edmonton, gasoline, gas gouging, gas prices, big oil, petrochemical, refinery,