The diesel shortage that has gripped the prairies is starting to be felt in Prince George.
Diversified Transportation, which operates the Prince George School District's school bus fleet, said the shortage hasn't had a significant impact on their operations yet.
"We have two or three cardlocks [gas stations] we normally use. On numerous occasions we've gone to them and they have been out of diesel," Diversified Transportation operations manager Jim Lawrence said. "It's happened a couple or three times this week. It doesn't impact on the students. [But] it certainly has an impact on us."
There is time and cost for drivers to be going from station to station to find fuel, he said.
"Production problems at three refineries in Alberta and Saskatchewan are driving the shortage in Western Canada. So far Prince George has not seen the extreme shortages, which have impacted the southern prairies.
On Oct. 6 a fire at the Consumers' Co-operative Refineries Ltd. refinery in Regina cut the refinery's diesel production by 20 per cent.
Suncor's Edmonton refinery suffered a hydrogen shortage after its supplier suffered a temporary shutdown in November. Shell Oil's Edmonton refinery had problems as well, according to Canadian Petroleum Producers Institute vice-president Ted Stoner.
Co-Op Petroleum regional general manager Cliff Irving said so far, their operations in Prince George have not been significantly affected.
The company operates commercial cardlock gas stations across north-central B.C.
