SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
If there will be relief at the gas pumps any time soon, the Yellowknife Direct Charge Co-operative will probably not be making the first move.
Yellowknife Direct Charge Co-operative member Carolyn Badcock fills up at the pump on Wednesday. Members shared $658,000 in fuel rebates last year, they were told at the organization's annual general meeting on April 9. - Thandiwe Vela/NNSL photo |
Members cashed in some $658,000 in vehicle fuel rebates last year, the board announced at the co-op's annual general meeting on April 9, thanks to a nine-cent-per-litre rebate on gasoline purchases.
Gas bars across the city have toed the line for nearly two years, keeping the price of regular gas in Yellowknife at around $1.389, following the lead of the Co-op's market price. But with the rebate, members have one of the only deals in town, actually paying $1.298 for gas. Petro-Canada also offers lower prices through a card-lock system.
Despite the biannual rebate payday, concerns about the Co-op's policy to not compete with other retailers on the price of gas were raised by some of the 100 members who attended the meeting at Northern United Place.
"There was concern about the Co-op's gas pricing policy. There's concern that the policy kept gas prices higher than people thought they should be," said president Ed Gullberg.
Because the other gas stations have not lowered their regular gas prices, which remained at $1.389 on Wednesday, and $142.9 at Gastown and Monkey Tree Gas Bar full service stations, the Co-op has no incentive to lower its market price either.
"That's one of the factors that goes into our decision on what to charge for gas - will we attract more sales if we lower the price of gas. But we already are the lowest price in town if you're a member of the Co-op, so we see it as a limited immediate impact on sales if we lower the price of gas," Gullberg said.
Longtime Co-op member Carolyn Badcock called the market price situation a "catch 22." She plans to continue enjoying some relief from the gas prices as a shareholder of Co-op.
"A lot of people go to Petro-Canada but I prefer to get that little cheque at the end of the month," she said.
Co-op membership has remained stable for several years at about 3,800 members, tied to the city's population, which has not seen significant growth.
Gas rebates are a major factor in many peoples' decision to join, Gullberg said.
"We always ask them what are the factors in joining the Co-op and the gas rebate is a frequently quoted reason that people do join the Co-op, so we know it is important to people," he said.
"We also poll people when they resign their membership and the vast majority are leaving Yellowknife, that's consistent. We're not getting people saying they're resigning over our gas policy.
"The reality is we still have the lowest gas prices in town for members."
Overall Co-op sales were slightly up for the year ended in November, 2012, at just over $39.5 million, from just over $39.4 million the year before.
Gas profits did not necessarily bolster total sales, Gullberg said, because despite the steady price of $1.389, the costs do fluctuate.
"It varies. In the time that I have been on the board, we have lost money on gas as well," he said.
"Our gas comes from Hay River, so we have freight charges over and above that to get it to Yellowknife. We also have unionized employees in our gas bar, which is not typical. So there are various factors that go into it."
In addition to gasoline rebates, members also received extra profits from the gas bar and grocery store in the form of patronage dividends.
Including an 8.1 per cent return on in-store purchases, gasoline and heating oil rebates, members received a total of $2.5 million this year in cash and refunds.
