If gas and diesel prices remain at, or below, the going rate, public entities in Richmond could stand to save more than a few Sir Robert Bordons.
In Metro Vancouver gasoline and diesel prices have dropped approximately 20-25 per cent from the same time last year.
Gas cost about $1.35 in January 2014 and now costs about $1.05. Over the same period, diesel prices have fallen from about $1.40 to about $1.10, according to Natural Resources Canada.
In 2014, the City of Richmond used 665,000 litres of gas and 485,000 litres of diesel, according to spokesperson Ted Townsend.
The city purchases fuel at a bulk, discounted rate but wouldn’t tell the Richmond News how much it saves from retail costs.
The city did state that it spent $1.43 million on diesel and gas in 2014, which works out to $1.24 for a litre of fuel over the 12-month period. An estimated 20 per cent savings across the board would equate to about $286,000 in the city’s pocket.
Richmond Fire Rescue purchases fuel from the city’s worksyard. It used 91,000 of diesel, costing it $122,000 ($1.35 per litre) in 2014. It also used 25,900 litres of gas, costing $32,400 ($1.25 per litre), according to deputy chief Tim Wilkinson.
A 20 per cent savings would equate to about $31,200 more for the fire department in 2015.
The Richmond School District also buys fuel from the city’s worksyard and used 85,000 litres of gasoline and 96,000 litres of diesel, according to Dina Mously, the district’s manager of energy and sustainability.
A 20 per cent savings on gas and diesel (or an estimated 25 cents per litre) in 2015 would equate to about a $45,000 over 2014.
Those estimates assume a 20 per cent savings across each month. Based on annual trends of supply and demand, fuel prices will go up in the summer when most construction and landscaping occurs.
In 2014, retail gas peaked in Richmond in late June, costing about $1.55. With prices down 20 per cent, expect to fuel up for your summer road trip at $1.25.
Presently, a barrel of oil costs about $50, whereas around the same time last year it cost $90-95, representing about a 45 per cent drop in crude oil prices.
