Gas prices shooting skyward again in Okanagan, Kamloops

PENTICTON – If the low gas prices in Kamloops and the Okanagan over the past couple of weeks seemed too good to be true – they were.

Prices at most of the region’s gas stations shot up yesterday, Sept. 25, following a couple of weeks of declines that saw prices dip to as low as $1.14 for a litre of regular gasoline in some areas.

GasBuddy.com reports prices today ranging from $139.9 in Penticton to $119.9 in Kamloops.

GasBuddy's head of petroleum analysis Patrick DeHaan says the rising price of wholesale gas is tied to several major refinery outages that have hit in the last few days, affecting gas prices on the U.S. west coast as well.

“Washington, Oregon and B.C. will see increases, but not nearly as steep as what’s coming for California, likely 20 to 35 cent increases,” he said in an email.

De Haan said the price hikes may die down in a week or two but more increases are possible before that occurs.

Here’s a list of the price per litre of regular gasoline in Kamloops and the Okanagan as of 2 p.m. today, Sept. 25:

• $119.9 to $127.9 in Kamloops
• $126.9 to $129.9 in Kelowna
• $131.9 to $132.9 in Vernon
• $138.9 to $139.9 in Penticton

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