Nova Scotia to invoke interrupter clause for diesel oil, gas prices will remain the same

Effective midnight Friday, the price of diesel oil will be adjusted by the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (NSUARB), as it invokes its interrupter clause.

“This change is necessary due to significant shifts in the market price of diesel oil. The pump price will be changed at midnight tonight,” the NSUARB wrote in a new release Friday.

The price of gasoline will not be affected by the clause.

According to the NSUARB, the benchmark price of diesel oil is based on an average of the daily market price for refined product on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) converted into Canadian dollars.

The Retail price paid at the pump is the benchmark price with wholesale margin, retailer markup, transportation allowance, cost of carbon, an adjustment for retail margin, and taxes added.

The NSUARB monitors the markets for gasoline and diesel oil daily, and says should conditions warrant, a new price may be set at any time.

As of Friday, Nova Scotians in Halifax were paying a maximum price of 176 cents per litre for diesel, while people in Cape Breton paid a maximum of 178 per litre, according to the NSUARB website.

The minimum price of regular gas in Halifax on Friday was 166 cents per litre, while those in Cape Breton were paying a minimum price of 168 per litre for gas.