Costco is working on bringing a gas station in Prince George.
Patrons will have to be members of the big-box wholesale store, but developers say it will add a new element of convenience for those carrying the Costco card.
"Nothing's been finalized, we are still in the process of going through the early stages," said Colin Folk, warehouse manager at the Prince George Costco location.
When construction will begin is not yet determined. Folk said a spot in their parking lot has been selected for placement of the gas bar with a bank of automated pumps. Each will be outfitted to read the patron's Costco card and either debit or accepted credit card.
All new Costco locations have gas pumps built into their initial construction but the stores that predate the fuel feature are slowly being retrofitted.
"We have five gas stations around B.C.," said Folk. "We have the space here, we just had to make sure we picked the best spot, and there were a number of factors to consider."
Costco is a wholesale retailer, providing bulk-buy price discounts on many items. Consumers were cautioned by Folk to expect many pump incentives, but exceptionally cheaper gas prices (there will likely not be a diesel available) may or may not be on the menu.
"I don't even want to speculate on future pricing," he said. "I don't know any of the details yet about who the supplier will be or what the process would be for our fuel purchasing. We will always try to be competitive with anything we sell."
The Costco location in Kamloops already has a gas bar. According to the bcgasprices.com website, in a recent survey of that city's fuel prices, the lowest cost for regular gasoline was $1.22 per litre and the most expensive was $1.33 per litre. Costco and 24 other stations were identical at $1.24 per litre, the city's typical price.
