The British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC)’s investigation concludes stating Retail Owners were in no wrongdoing.
BCUC launched an investigation into fuel pricing behaviours in December 2024 after receiving requests from Quesnel’s residents to investigate why the city had higher gas prices compared to neighbouring cities, Williams Lake, and Prince George, since November 2024.
At the time of the initial complaints, Quesnel’s prices were on average between 16 to 23 cents per litre higher than in Williams Lake, and 15 to 20 cents per litre higher than in Prince George.
The BCUC has concluded its investigation and released its Quesnel Fuel Market Report on its findings on March 24.
In the investigation, the BCUC asked Quesnel Retail Station Owners to provide information on how gasoline and fuel prices are set in their area and at their retail stations, and why prices at the pump in Quesnel were higher than in nearby markets.
The investigation found “characteristics unique to less populated markets” that Quesnel Retail Station experienced. These characteristics are:
- A greater distance from supply hubs
- more logistically complex and costly supply routes
- site-specific operational costs; and
- a smaller market size with fewer retail stations.
Retail Station Owners in the report emphasized they set their prices to remain competitive, particularly against Big Box Competitors, such as Costco, in Prince George that can sell higher volumes of fuel at lower prices.
The Retail Station Owners also said their choices in pricing behaviours did align with the BCUC’s 2024 Retail Fuel Market Staff Report. In the report, BCUC staff outlined that similar characteristics of smaller and less populated retail markets, as seen in Quesnel, contributed to higher prices.
Last year, a similar pricing behaviour investigation was done in Powell River. The BCUC concluded the same “unique characteristics” found in smaller retail markets were the reasons for the higher prices, and they too aligned with the BCUC Staff’s Retail Field Market Report.
At the time of writing, Quesnel’s retail station prices are lower than those at Williams Lake’s and Prince George’s retail stations.
According to GasBuddy.com, the price at the Petro–Canada in Quesnel is 155.8 cents per litre. In Williams Lake, the Petro–Canada price is 159.9 cents per litre, and comparatively in Prince George, the price at the pump for their Chevron is 157.9 cents per litre.
The BCUC says that it will continue to monitor the pricing behaviours in Quesnel. The Commission has several projects investigating fair fuel prices across the province.
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