Gas companies are under the microscope in B.C. to ensure savings from the carbon tax cut are being passed on to consumers.
The BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) says it wants clarity.
“The BCUC will be monitoring the province’s retail fuel market to examine whether fuel companies are passing on savings from the removal of British Columbia’s carbon tax to customers,” the regulator said in a release.
“The BCUC expects that pump prices will reflect the removal of the carbon tax. However, the BCUC will collect data and information from retail stations under the Fuel Price Transparency Act to provide clarity on how quickly fuel prices reflect the removal throughout BC’s larger and smaller retail markets.”
Early Tuesday morning, gas prices in Metro Vancouver ranged from $1.799 to $1.969 after the provincial government passed legislation reducing the carbon tax rate to zero for petroleum products in the province.
It was a marathon session for MLAs, ending after 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, as the NDP government fast-tracked the legislation to coincide with the April 1 demise of the federal version of the tax.
Earlier Monday, Premier David Eby said the tax played an important role for many years, but became a “toxic” issue as a result of campaigns by the B.C. and federal Conservative parties.
As of Tuesday, the 17.6 cent consumer carbon tax on gasoline has been lifted, along with 20.7 cents on diesel.
The carbon tax rate has also been zeroed for other fuel types such as propane, natural gas, and jet fuel.
B.C.’s Fuel Transparency Act was passed in 2019, requiring gas companies to regularly provide data on their activities to the BCUC.
Companies or individuals that provide misleading or false information can face penalties of up to one million dollars and up to six months in jail.
source & photo: CityNews
