Drivers are waking up to sticker shock at the pumps Saturday as a big jump in gas prices comes into effect. Some are seeing prices for fill-ups higher than $1.80 a litre in the Ottawa area and analysts say while there’s some reprieve on the way, drivers may still have a long road ahead. Filling up Saturday morning, John Bowker says he’s willing to see relief where he can. “Initially when I was driving up, I saw the sign $2.10, and I thought that was the price of the regular gasoline, but it turned out to be diesel, so I was a little bit relieved,” he said in an interview with CTV News Ottawa. “But, as I was filling up with gas, I was just looking at how fast the cost was going up.” Ottawa saw a nine cent jump overnight. Bowker filled up for a total of nearly $60 and while the rise in gas prices hasn’t forced him to make any changes so far, days like this continue to pinch the wallet. “It was like three quarters of a tank and it would usually cost me just a little under 40,” he says. Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy which analyses gas prices across Canada, says the jump is due to a mix of the annual switch to summer gasoline blends and a response to energy markets. Fuel blends are changed every April and September to summer and winter blends, respectively. Summer gas uses less butane because it evaporates quicker, but it’s added to winter blends to help cars start in lower temperatures. Replacing butane with other additives in the summer is what contributes to the price increase. McTeague says if you can hold off heading to the pumps you should because a bit of relief is coming. On Sunday, gas is set to drop 7 cents a litre, and then another 11 cents on Monday under the removal of the federal gas tax. “If you can wait until Monday, gas prices will drop an average of $0.18 a litre,” he said. “That’s a pretty significant drop.” McTeague explains that drivers should expect to pay high prices overall for some time. “It will take a lot longer, perhaps, through summer, before we start to see major relief in oil getting back to the prices that they were just before the invasion. So, about $65 to $68 a barrel, that’s not likely to happen for a very long time. Those like Bowker are dreaming of better days. “I do remember when it was below the dollar,” he said. “So yeah, it’s big changes.”
