Gasoline prices ran all over the map for motorists stopping to top up in Gasoline Alley on Wednesday, including some significant jumps during the day.
At 11 a.m., the price for regular ranged from 91.4 cents per litre at Costco to $101.9 at Shell. Petro-Canada, Esso and Fas Gas were all pumping at 93.9 cents while Esso and Husky were at 94.9.
Within an hour, prices at other stations had started to climb to match the price at Shell.
Red Deer Co-op had held the line at its two Red Deer gas bars through the morning, but cranked up to $101.9 in the middle of the afternoon, as did the Fas Gas stations in Gasoline Alley.
The previous day, prices at most Red Deer and gas bars had remained at 92.9, well below prices elsewhere in the country, where motorists were paying as much as $1.26 per litre.
Alberta’s average had reached $101.9 by 1:30 in the afternoon while the national average had reached $110.9.
Dan MacKay, who had stopped at the Midpoint Shell in Gasoline Alley on his way home to Bashaw on Wednesday, said he doesn’t pay much attention to gas prices and was unaware that the gas he was putting into his truck and snowmobile was seven cents cheaper at the Husky next door.
In the next island, Toble Kabwabwa had stopped at the Shell on his way from Edmonton to Calgary.
He also had not noticed the difference in prices between competing stations. Gas in Edmonton was in the 96-cent range on Tuesday night, said Kabwabwa.
Local gasoline retailers say Red Deer motorists continue to benefit from a competitive local market, starting in Gasoline Alley.
“Costco definitely put some pressure on the local market in the greater Red Deer area. They came in and . . . were trying to maintain a five-cent discount,” said Ken Ashacker, vice-president of retail marketing for Fas Gas Oil.
That forced other players to pick a price where they could maintain volume and still make a fair profit margin, said Ashacker.
Fas Gas likes to call itself a “fast follower” in matching its prices to local markets at its 140 retail stations, with Red Deer being among the lowest in the province, he said.
Fas Gas raised its pump prices to $101.9 in Gasoline Alley during the afternoon on Wednesday, but had maintained lower prices within the city, he said.
Overall, competition within Gasoline Alley comes from having so many gas stations so close together, said Calgary-based Jeff Gabert, a spokesman for Shell Canada.
“You can see each other’s signs,” he said.
Wayne van Steelandt, marketing manager for Red Deer Co-op, said prices at his gas stations in Red Deer and Lacombe are also set to be competitive within local markets.
Prices had been stable for a number of months, as has the price of crude oil from which the gasoline is made, said van Steelandt.
“We never lead up, we never lead down. We just follow what the market’s doing,” he said just before 3 p.m., roughly an hour after jacking his pump price to $101.9 to match what had been happening elsewhere in the region.
“I don’t know who went up first. I just know that Shell and Esso and other ones went up,” he said.
“I wish I had filled up yesterday.”
Discounts and dividends are a major factor when prices are high, said all three retailers.
“If we aren’t competitive in the market, we don’t make any money to pay out patronage dividends,” said van Steelandt.
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bkossowan@www.reddeeradvocate.com