FORT ST. JOHN -- Motorists in Fort St. John and Dawson Creek woke up to a welcome surprise at the pumps today.
The price of gas has dropped at most stations across the region, with prices hovering around $1.46 to $1.60 per litre.
“I think it's pretty clear that something had to give and one of the other competitors probably decided to undercut the other routes, which is why you're seeing these prices at significantly lower levels,” said Dan McTeague with Canadians for Affordable Energy in an interview with CJDC-TV.
McTeague says gas prices in the Peace Region are now 12 cents cheaper than this time last year, which could indicate a surplus in supply.
“Of course, it would be a lot cheaper, believe it or not, if we had a Canadian dollar that was trading on par with the U.S. greenback," McTeague explained. “In other words, we were selling more oil to the United States or gas or other products.”
Federal and Provincial carbon taxes also a driver in the price.
"Between those two taxes and the Canadian dollar -- I know unfathomable you'd be in that kind of circumstance -- you'd be paying a little closer to $0.80 a liter. $0.85." said McTeague.
Rack prices in Edmonton and Prince George, where the cities get a majority of their fuel supply, currently sit at 86.60 and 101.90 respectively for regular.
Gas prices are expected to remain at current levels over the next month, although they may begin to inch upwards due to increased U.S. demand over their Thanksgiving weekend.
