VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 15, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As Administrator of British Columbia’s (BC) Fuel Price Transparency Act (FPT Act), the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) will be expanding its fuel price data collection and reporting, on an ad-hoc basis, for select cities in BC. The data will be collected from June 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020 and made publicly available on the BCUC’s GasPricesBC.ca website at regular intervals.
Gathering and sharing of additional data is a result of public feedback, as the BCUC heard from many individuals seeking more specific retail pricing data. Fuel pricing data will be collected over the summer months for the areas the BCUC heard about most; Powell River, Revelstoke, Port Alberni, and Squamish. Data from Nanaimo and Langley will also be collected and used for comparative purposes.
As Administrator of the FPT Act, the BCUC is responsible for collecting and publishing information about gasoline and diesel fuel activities in BC, in an effort to promote competitiveness and public confidence in the competitiveness of the fuel market. The BCUC does not regulate fuel prices.
Background
Bill 42 – The Fuel Price Transparency Act was introduced in the BC Legislature by Minister Bruce Ralston on November 18, 2019. The FPT Act requires companies to report information and data on their activities in the gasoline and diesel fuel market in BC. Bill 42 received Royal Assent and became law on November 27, 2019. On March 9, 2020, the BC government announced the BCUC as the Administrator of the FPT Act. The BC government’s announcement is posted here.
On April 7, 2020, the BCUC launched GasPricesBC.ca. The website was developed as a first step in providing the public with more information about how gasoline and diesel prices are set in BC. Through a series of dashboards, GasPricesBC.ca displays publicly available data, which visitors can customize to view information based on geography or price components.
About the BCUC
The BCUC is a regulatory agency responsible for oversight of energy utilities and compulsory auto insurance in British Columbia. It is the BCUC’s role to balance the interests of customers with the interests of the businesses it regulates. The BCUC carries out fair and transparent reviews of matters within its jurisdiction and considers public input where public interest is impacted.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Krissy Van Loon
Manager, Communications
Phone: 604.660.4727
Email: Krissy.VanLoon@bcuc.com