If your tank is looking empty, you鈥檇 better fill up now as gas prices are forecast to hit 154 cents a litre by the end of the week.
鈥淚鈥檓 leaning 75 per cent that we鈥檒l be $1.54 by Saturday or Sunday,鈥� said GasBuddy senior analyst Dan McTeague.
鈥淚 would refer to it as a chronic shortage and it isn鈥檛 going to change anytime soon.鈥�
Currently, gas prices are sitting at 148.9 cents a litre in Metro Vancouver, including the region鈥檚 gas taxes, and are expected to hit 150.9 cents by Wednesday 鈥� 19 cents above this time last year.
鈥淲ith average consumption鈥� that鈥檚 $500 more a year for a conservative driver,鈥� said McTeague.
GasBuddy had predicted peak Vancouver gas prices of $1.52 in their annual gas forecast and McTeague said he didn鈥檛 expect to see prices top that so early in the year.
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He noted that the region gets its gas from just a few sources: the Parkland refinery in Burnaby and a few refineries down in Washington State.
The Burnaby refinery has been down for long term maintenance for weeks.
鈥淭hey suggested that the down time would be anywhere from three to six weeks; we鈥檙e into their fourth week and it鈥檚 likely to stay down for another two to three weeks,鈥� said McTeague.
Compounding the issue is that two of the four Washington State refineries that supply B.C. are scheduled to shut down in 26 days.
The Parkland shutdown is raising prices by five to seven cents, McTeague said.
But even if the Burnaby refinery does reopen soon, any relief that Lower Mainland drivers feel will end soon: April 1 marks the introduction of a new $35 a ton increase to carbon taxes and soon after that, more expensive summer gasoline hits the pumps and summer driving demand traditionally pushes up prices.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to see days where we hit near $1.60 a litre, I have no doubt in my mind,鈥� said McTeague.
鈥淭hat will exceed all time records.鈥�
The highest gas prices McTeague remembers seeing are in the mid-upper 1.50s in 2013.
McTeague said he doesn鈥檛 see any quick fixes.
He predicts that Lower Mainland drivers will continue to head south of the border to fill up their tanks, even as places like Whatcom County in Washington State are seeing a 20 cent gas price surge in reaction to more and more Canadians heading down to fill up.
It鈥檚 not a recent problem, he notes.
鈥淲e鈥檙e reaping a very bitter harvest, mostly as a result of not forecasting or taking into consideration the population growth in our region,鈥� said McTeague.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 displace the importance of diesel or gasoline to an economy like B.C.鈥檚.鈥�
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