Most Nunavut consumers to pay less for fuel as of Jan. 30

New fuel prices come into effect across Nunavut as of Jan. 30. (FILE PHOTO)

(Updated 5:00 p.m., Jan. 27)

As of this Monday, Jan. 30, most Nunavut consumers will start to pay less for gasoline, diesel, home heating diesel and other fuel products, the Government of Nunavut said Jan. 27.

The new price list (see document embedded below) for the first time charges uniform prices throughout each of the three Nunavut regions.

That’s a change from the past, when the GN set slightly different prices for each community.

The result of the new 2017 price list is that people who buy vehicle gasoline and diesel will pay less, in some communities by substantial amounts, and in other communities by smaller amounts.

And this year the GN has done its fuel pricing based on a new model that’s intended to be more fair and ensure that all consumer classes pay the same rates, the GN said.

“Overall, the fuel rates were reduced. PPD [Petroleum Products Division] has realigned regional prices with the costs of delivering fuel in each region to transfer the costs of operations to Nunavummiut in an equitable manner,” a GN spokesperson said in an email.

The new regional prices for vehicle gasoline in Nunavut are as follows:

• Qikiqtani, except Sanikiluaq—$1.1158 per litre;

• Kivalliq, plus Sanikiluaq—$1.0996 per litre; and

• Kitikmeot—$1.1549 per litre.

In five Baffin communities—Igloolik, Hall Beach, Clyde River, Grise Fiord and Pangnirtung—the price falls by only a fraction of a cent: the 2016 price for them was set at $1.117 per litre.

Most Kivalliq communities will enjoy a bigger price break: a price decrease of more than 20 cents a litre for gasoline in most hamlets. (See second document embedded at the bottom for a list of 2016 prices.)

In the Kitikmeot, communities will see prices drop by about 25 cents a litre.

For new gasoline and vehicle diesel prices in Iqaluit, where there is now a fully privatized market, the GN said you should check with local vehicle gasoline and diesel vendors, who now set their own prices.

The new regional prices for home heating diesel in Nunavut are as follows:

• Qikiqtani, except Sanikiluaq—$1.0178 per litre;

• Kivalliq, plus Sanikiluaq—$0.9875 per litre; and,

• Kitikmeot—$1.0698 per litre.

The new home heating diesel price in Iqaluit falls to $0.8129 per litre, compared with a price of $0.8759 per litre in 2016.

Prices for home diesel in all communities outside Iqaluit will also fall, in some cases by substantial margins, depending on the region.

“The fuel rates take account of the price of crude oil on global markets, costs for fuel delivery in each region in Nunavut and a benchmarking of Nunavut retail prices versus other Canadian cities,” the GN spokesperson said.

The price of naptha, used by hunters to fuel Coleman stoves, now has a uniform cost across Nunavut: $8 per can.

Nunavut is the only province or territory in Canada where the government buys the territory’s entire fuel supply each year and ships it to each community using contracted shipping firms.

The GN’s Petroleum Products Division then distributes fuel products in each community through contracts with local enterprises. The retail prices that the GN sets remain in place until the next annual fuel resupply, except in Iqaluit where retail gas stations can now set their own prices.

The last fuel price adjustment occurred last year, when the GN slashed gasoline and diesel prices by 10 cents per litre as of Jan. 1, 2016.

An earlier version of this story reported that all Nunavut consumers would pay less for fuel products. However in a few communities, the price of gasoline for vehicles will be reduced by only a tiny fraction of a cent, which means residents there will pay virtually the same price.

New Nunavut Fuel Price Table by NunatsiaqNews on Scribd

2016 Fuel Retail Price List – Nunavut by NunatsiaqNews on Scribd