Red Deer gas prices skyrocketed to new heights on Wednesday.
The price at most pumps in Red Deer jumped 16 cents per litre to 179.9 — a new record and 60 cents per litre more than the lowest average in the city this year, which was 139.9 on Jan. 3. The owner of a minivan with a standard 76-litre tank will spend more than $45 more for a fill-up than six months ago.
Gas in Red Deer peaked at 167.9 on March 10, only days before Premier Jason Kenney announced he would stop collecting the 13-cents-per-litre provincial gasoline tax.
Kenney announced that if the price of the benchmark West Texas Intermediate stays above $90 US a barrel the province will stop collecting its gas tax. If oil drops below $80 US a barrel, the tax will be applied again. West Texas Intermediate remained over $114 US a barrel this week.
Gas would be at 192.9 on Wednesday if that tax was still being applied. Prices since the premier gave Albertans a gas tax break are up 25 cents per litre.
Alberta is still below the national average gas price of 198.8, which is down from the May 18 peak of 201.8, according to gasbuddy.com. Newfoundland has the highest average gas price at 222.6, while Vancouver and the Fraser Valley is just over 220 and on Vancouver Island the price is over 223 in some places.