Before his government got rid of the consumer carbon tax in B.C., premier David Eby warned gasoline sellers of the BC Utilities Commission’s authority uncover price gouging. However, when it comes to penalties, CEO Mark Jaccard suggested the commission’s authority is limited to cases where sellers do not supply accurate data as required by law.
The BC Utilities Commission is currently collecting data which will monitor if fuel companies are passing along savings now that the consumer carbon tax is dead.
Jaccard said his team gets all the data about money changing hands along the gasoline supply chain, including how much money gas sellers make each month. The commission publishes information online about mark-ups at the wholesale and retail level.
However, the price at the pump is not regulated in the province. Sometimes it takes varying lengths of time for price increases or decreases to reach different gas stations, Jaccard said.
“If the consumer sees a high price, I think I know what that consumer will do, they will go to a gas station with a lower price,” he said, adding how websites like GasBuddy track consumer reports of prices in real time.
CFAX 1070 asked Jaccard if the BC Utilities Commission penalizes gas stations for charging too much. Jaccard said no, but the commission can penalize sellers for not sharing data, or sharing incorrect data.
“But it’s a competitive market—and so that’s capitalism, and in our wisdom our governments of left or right in British Columbia have decided the market is competitive enough that you don’t want to regulate individual stations. And I’m quite prepared to defend that point of view because I’ve seen parts of the world where they regulate gasoline prices, and that’s not necessarily a good outcome either.”
He was on CFAX 1070 this week with Al Ferraby: