Higher retail margins for motor fuels and furnace oil means New Brunswickers will be paying more to fill up their vehicles and heat their homes.
The New Brunswick Energy Utilities Board (NBEUB) approved the increases in a partial decision released Tuesday.
Retail margins for gas and diesel will climb by 0.53 cents, or 7.8 per cent, to a new maximum of 7.33 cents per litre.
For furnace oil, the new maximum retail margin will be 23.56 cents per litre — an increase of 2.56 cents, or 12.2 per cent.
The board also approved an increase to the maximum delivery costs for gas and diesel. The new maximum will be 3.5 cents per litre, an increase of 0.5 cents.
The new margins will come into effect Thursday. According to the board, the last adjustments were made in Nov. 2019.
NBEUB members had asked Gardner Pinfold Consultants to review the maximum retail margins, delivery costs and full-service charges for petroleum products and recommend any changes.
Their report, dated Dec. 2020, recommended increasing the retail margin for gas and diesel by 0.5 cents (7.6 per cent) to 7.3 cents per litre.
The firm also suggested maintaining the maximum full-service charge at three cents per litre. Of the 15 per cent of retailers which offer a full-serve or split-serve enterprise, most set their price one to two cents below the maximum.
For furnace oil, Gardner Pinfold said the board should increase the retail margin by 2.6 cents (12.2 per cent) to 23.6 cents per litre.
A three-day hearing was held on the matter in late March.
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