Premier understands UARB ruling against automatic clause on gas prices
Posted Oct 6, 2011 01:13:14 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The premier says he’s not going to challenge the Utility and Review Board’s ruling against an automatic interrupter clause on gas prices in the province.
Premier Darrell Dexter proposed the idea of an automatic clause in the summer. It would have adjusted gas prices automatically during market swings, rather than having to wait until the end of the week for prices to fall.
The review board rejected the proposal, saying it would create “significant problems.”
“Well, I see their point,” says Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter. “And I know that whenever you have bureaucracies, they like to retain control over these things. But, we’ll have a look at their reasons and see what they had to say.”
Provincial Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil has been calling on the Dexter government to de-regulate gasoline so that prices can drop at any time. But Dexter says he has no intention of doing so. He says regulation keeps gas prices lower.
“We have been below the national average for gas prices for 47 out of 52 weeks last year,” he says. “Before regulation, we were above the national average I think 37 weeks a year.”
Provincial Conservative Leader Jamie Baillie says he’s not calling for outright deregulation, but says the NDP needs to take steps to ensure gas price regulation doesn’t mean Nova Scotians pay more than they should for gas.
