Fuel price hike coming to Nunavut on July 1
Last Updated: Friday, June 27, 2008 | 6:45 PM CT
CBC News
The Nunavut government announced Friday that fuel prices will go up effective July 1, with higher world oil prices to blame.
The retail price of gasoline, home heating fuel, Avgas (aviation fuel) and naphtha will rise by 22 cents per litre. Jet fuel prices will rise by 30 cents a litre.
The territory's Department of Community and Government Services says it spent $138 million on petroleum products last year.
It's estimated that at current market pricing, the government will need to spend an additional $80 million to purchase those products this year.
Every summer, the Nunavut government has to order an entire year's supply of petroleum products to be shipped north.
Those year-long supplies are then distributed to communities across the territory, where they're used for everything from powering diesel electricity generators to fuelling snowmobiles and trucks.
The territorial government heavily subsidizes the prices of fuel as it's distributed to the communities.
This year, it intends to order 187 million litres of fuel to be shipped to the territory, which is 17 million litres more than last year.
Last year, Nunavut spent about $230 million on fuel and fuel subsidies.
This year, government officials say that cost could grow by anywhere from $85 million to $100 million, depending on how oil prices fluctuate between June and mid-August. That means Nunavut could be spending the equivalent of its entire capital budget on energy.
With files from the Canadian Press
