IRAC...there's just nothing funny about it.
I can't help but notice that Island gas prices took a considerable jump at the pumps of approx. 3 - 4¢/litre only days before visitors began arriving for the Canada Games. At that time I made a prediction that the Commission was attempting to gouge visitors with higher gas prices and that we could expect a drop once the games concluded and everyone returned home. Sure enough, this morning, 2 days after the closing celebrations, we receive a 1.6¢/litre gas price drop.
These sort of price hikes are becoming all too common. It may not be a conspiracy, but cons and piracy are definitely involved somewhere.
2 comments:
IRAC lost my confidence about this time last year ... we were in the States when speculative pricing about the damage that a hurricane (can't remember which one) would do to rigs in the Gulf Of Mexico. On a Thursday, prices started soaring in New Hamphire but by Sunday had dropped back down to pre-panic prices and by Monday were even lower than they had been the previous week. We arrived back on PEI just in time for an unscheduled price increase of major proportions on that Monday ... what the heck, why are they raising prices on PEI when the three day speculation bubble had already burst. Three days later, there was an unscheduled price decrease back to former levels. I guess that IRAC had felt that since gasoline retailers had had 3 days of windfall profits in unregulated markets (there had been no wholesale price increase, only a retail increase), they would provide the same windfall to Island concerns for a 3 day period. Trouble is ... IRAC is supposed to be working for *US*, not the gasoline wholesalers/retailers. One of the raison d'etres for IRAC is to protect us from short term spikes like that (especially spikes that have already come and gone).
Peter, I think that is a perfect example of what I am talking about. It seems like IRAC is more involved in protecting the gasoline retailers than the gasoline purchasers.
While IRAC may have a place in other matters, it seems that their agenda and even their guidelines have changed so much from their original implementation that they no longer are able to serve the purpose for which they were put in place.
Post a Comment