News release

Province Moves to Weekly Gas Price Setting

Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations (Oct. 2000 - March 2014)

Nova Scotians will see weekly gas price adjustments and the removal of the price cap on full-service gas starting Friday, May 11. As well, government will be reviewing the amended regulation process after one year of implementation.

These changes are the result of the province accepting three of the four recommendations from the recent review of gas price regulation, conducted by an independent consultant.

"Weekly price setting will benefit everyone," said Jamie Muir, Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations. "This change will result in less price variation, and balance industry and consumer needs while continuing to provide predictable and stable gas prices."

The government has also moved to act on the recommendation to remove the price cap on full-service gas, on a pilot basis. Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations will monitor closely the impact of the removal of the price cap on both retailers and consumers.

Mr. Muir noted that removing the price cap on full-service gasoline should help small rural-remote stations. "Small rural-remote gas stations do not have large volumes and are usually not corporately owned, so it costs them more to provide full-service gas. Allowing retailers and suppliers to recover the cost by removing the cap should encourage many to continue to offer that service," said Mr. Muir.

Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations will continue to act as the regulator and closely monitor the impact of the changes. Another evaluation of gas regulation will take place 12 months after the implementation of these measures.

The gas regulation review, released last week, was conducted by Gardner Pinfold Consulting and assessed the impact of gas regulation on consumers and the retail gas industry. The report can be found online at www.gov.ns.ca .