Do we need a gas ombudsman?

[CBC News]

Motorists in many cities in Canada received a sharp surprise early Friday when they discovered the price of gasoline had risen by as much as 13 cents a litre.
Liberal MP Dan McTeague, a critic of the oil industry, said he cannot recall a time when gasoline prices rose by so much in such a short period of time.
McTeague said "there is no justification" for Friday's increase. He said the four main Canadian oil companies are taking advantage of motorists.
Does such a sudden hike indicate a need for a gasoline ombudsman, as suggested by NDP Leader Jack Layton?

Full Story


More...

 

[darkbeaver]

First we need a gas regulator to control the noxious fumes emanating from my radio and TV.

 

[#juan]

So the oil companies are saying that "We might get some damage, so lets raise the price in case we do". Meanwhile, we are paying for damage that hasn't yet happened. Good plan. If you are an oil company.....:angryfire::angry3:

 

[TenPenny]

The gas market works like the stock market. Everyone is predicting damage to the refineries in the Gulf because of Ike, so the wholesale price of refined products is going up.

 

[Scott Free]

And we all know nothing shady ever happens in the stock exchange.

 

[#juan]

The gas market works like the stock market. Everyone is predicting damage to the refineries in the Gulf because of Ike, so the wholesale price of refined products is going up.

Yeah but, even Katrina didn't do the damage that was expected and we have paid a fortune in gas price increases for Katrina, and the profits of the oil companies have gone through the roof.

 

[Ron in Regina]

With the "world price" excuse, it makes me just want to spit. I live in Saskatchewan, which is
an oil exporter (not importer...and the folks in Alberta will empathize with me here). I happen to
also be sitting about 50 city blocks from the Refinery (Co-op Upgrader). The interaction that
we have with the gulf coast is that we export crude oil to it...and don't receive refined product
back from it. Gasoline at the pumps jumped $0.11/L in Regina, Saskatoon, and Edmonton.
I'm curious to hear the spin that'll be put on this in the days to come. Tell me this jump isn't
due to speculation, and that there's no collusion in the almost simultaneous increase in prices
(regardless of the names on the signs) today. Hmmm...

 

[Ron in Regina]

Oh yeah...last I heard about the price of a barrel of oil was at noon, and it was under $100 at that point.

 

[Scott Free]

When a commodity is so needed like energy but not thought of as essential like food and mostly controlled by a handful of corporations there is created such a huge opportunity for exploitation that it is impossible to imagine anything else. It would require such restraint by the energy barons, a restraint a free market could not provide, that, given the record profits of recent history by energy moguls, there is no evidence of existing. What little restraint may exist is present only by way of competition that will dissolve anytime the energy providers realize their goals (profit) are the same. I don't see any natural restrictions on energy providers existing of the kind normally present in a free market economy because of the uniqueness of energy itself. A good metaphor IMO would be expecting a free market to keep the price of heroin low in a town where there are only three dealers. It just isn't going to happen. However each dealer is going to be able to explain why their prices are the way they are and why they are reasonable.

 

[Tonington]

Well, when the price of oil goes up because of Ike, it takes time for the oil bought now to become gasoline, and it certainly isn't over night. The gasoline being sold this morning was the same gas people bought last night. That gas at the station isn't anymore expensive...is it? Wouldn't the new price only be needed for the margins on the new gasoline the filling stations buy from the wholesalers? Maybe we do need an ombudsmen, or someone to better explain this to me :S

 

[#juan]

The world price of a barrel of crude oil is still around a hundred dollars or a little less. The refineries have not yet been damaged so why did the price of a liter of gas go up by up to 13 cents a liter. BTW, that is over 58 cents a gallon. I would say we have to have a fuel ombudsman. I would also say we need more refineries in this country....Away from the alleged damages from hurricanes.

 

[Ron in Regina]

Try this one on for size. I live in Regina, Saskatchewan so I'm going to use Regina for comparison.
U.S. President Bush is concerned that the recent drastic jump in prices at the pumps was price gouging
in expectation of Hurricane Ike. The large jump before a disaster is reason for an investigation. He's
going to loosen some of the environmental rules to get more gas into the region to alleviate shortages and
bring the prices back in line. I'm going to use some graphics provided by www.gasbuddy.com which also
happens to be located in Regina. These will show the gasoline prices in both US Gallons/US Dollars, and
in Litres/Canadian Dollars. First showing Houston vs Dallas vs Texas...Then Houston vs Texas vs Regina.

 

[Ron in Regina]

I find actually seeing something helps to put it into perspective. Do we need a Fuel Pricing Ombudsman?
If The U.S. President is claiming "Foul" over their relatively (compared to Canada) small increase in the
price at the pumps, what about the monstrous jump in prices in Canada...before anything actually
happened? In Canada, we get much larger increases in pump prices due to a long weekend than they do
in the U.S.A. due to a natural disaster. Compare apples to apples...

 

[Tonington]

Here's an interesting one. Halifax has gone down, while everywhere else seems to be jumping...oh yah, regulated gas. I wonder what it will be next week...

 

[Kreskin]

Amazing isn't it Ron.

There is a bank Ombudsman. Why not a gas Ombudsman? Heck I say make it the mother of all red tape beauracracies; so cumbersome that it becomes too much of a pain in the ass to raise fuel prices. Employ one-quarter of government within it.

 

[Ron in Regina]

All I can say is that I have a little car, and I filled up last around the beginning of September,
and I still have more than 1/2 a tank of fuel, so I'm good to around the end of the month. The
pump prices at the end of the month might not be as ugly as they are today...but these jumps
take months to drop half way back to the old price, and by that time we're grateful and think
we're getting a deal as our mental "basis of normal" has reset to the inflated price...nasty.

 

[Tonington]

Oops. Seems gasbuddy is out of date for Halifax. I'm an hour away, just went outside. Yesterday it was 132.1 A litre, and now it's 144.1 a litre. :S

 

[Ron in Regina]

Here's an example of how our perception of normal changes. These graphs span a 72 month
duration as apposed to just a month. Same chart, but one in Litres and one in Gallons...
Without out this ingrained human coping mechanism, gas companies couldn't get away
with what they do. You can thank whatever God you believe in that you're not a Trucker.

 

[Ron in Regina]

Has anyones income doubled in the last six years? Mine has squeeked up a bit, but it's sure
not keeping pace with this...

 

[darkbeaver]

Amazing isn't it Ron.

There is a bank Ombudsman. Why not a gas Ombudsman? Heck I say make it the mother of all red tape beauracracies; so cumbersome that it becomes too much of a pain in the ass to raise fuel prices. Employ one-quarter of government within it.

And what has the bank ombudsman done lately to inspire us to emply another? What we need is a nasty gas revolt.