Heating oil pre-election price change review put off until summer

New Brunswick heating oil consumers hoping for quick government help to bring prices in line with other provinces are out of luck.

Energy Minister Donald Arseneault said Tuesday he's decided to wait until the summer to fully evaluate whether a loosening of price regulations by the former Alward government last August should be reversed.

"I commit myself to take the full year, to August 2015, and then we can fully evaluate a full year," Arseneault told CBC News.

"At that time, we will be able to see if this new formula, or this new system that the past government put in place is actually working for the benefit of all — the consumers included."

This week, the regulated maximum price for heating oil in New Brunswick has been sitting at 93.6 cents per litre, plus HST. 

That's 17.7 cents higher than the maximum price set in Newfoundland and Labrador for the area in and around St. John's, N.L.

This was nothing more than a gift to Irving Oil from the Alward government.- David Coon, Green Party leader

It's a record price gap that has persisted all winter and Green Party Leader David Coon says there is no excuse to evaluate it any further before taking action.

"The minister of energy should have acted in the fall, really, before the heating season really started grabbing people hard as it has now," said Coon.

"The first step is to rescind this. This was nothing more than a gift to Irving Oil from the Alward government."

NDP Leader Dominic Cardy also called on Arseneault to end his study period early.

"I think the government has to look at it and look at it now," said Cardy.

"I understand that government wants to take some time and study and analyze. Meanwhile, there are people having to make decisions about keeping their house heat on, and that's not acceptable."

Arseneault said the changes do not appear to be working to the benefit of consumers this winter, but he says he needs to see a full year's worth of pricing before he can properly evaluate the new system.

For the past eight years, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador had both been calculating maximum heating oil prices based on the New York trading values of heating oil in the summer and jet fuel in the winter.

In August, the Alward government terminated that method. 

New Brunswick now bases heating oil prices on the trading value of diesel in the summer and kerosene in the winter, both of which trade at higher prices.