Gasoline prices in Nova Scotia are down 8.1 cents a litre after the provincial regulator invoked a special clause to reset pump prices.
The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board used its interruptor clause for the first time at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday since it began regulating gas prices 18 months ago.
In Halifax, the minimum price for regular self-serve gas is now $1.247 a litre. The price is slightly higher outside the capital district. The price of diesel didn't change.
The board usually sets petroleum prices every Friday. But the price of crude oil has dropped 16 per cent in two weeks, and both New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island have stepped in to drop their pump prices.
On Tuesday, drivers in Nova Scotia were paying 12 cents a litre more than drivers in New Brunswick.
Service Nova Scotia Minister John MacDonell said the government is considering changing the interruptor clause so it kicks in automatically when market prices spike or plummet dramatically, as is the case in New Brunswick.
But he warned that having a locked-in trigger would also mean faster increases at the pump when the cost of gas goes up on international markets.
