When Prince George resident John Calogheros went to fill up his truck on April 14, he’d already heard there was a problem with diesel fuel being sold in the city.
Several gas stations in town had already shut off their diesel pumps. But he was “running on fumes” and was planning to tow his boat out to the lake for a few days, so he stopped at a downtown gas station and went in to ask if their diesel fuel was good.
“They said it was good, so I filled up,” Calogheros said. “We were on our way out to the lake. We were getting lots of power (problems) and lots of smoke. It smelled really bad.”
They were able to get out to their place at the lake, but the truck became increasingly hard to start, he said. After five days at the lake, the truck was very difficult to start, he said.
“I got us back home. (But) now it’s not starting at all,” he said. “We’re lucky enough we have a second vehicle. But I can’t haul my boat.”
Calogheros said he has filed a claim with ICBC and contacted Husky Canada’s corporate customer service line. An agent for Crawford and Company, an industrial insurance corporation, contacted him and took his information.
“I know it will get resolved, I just don’t know who is going to pay,” he said.
He also went back to the downtown gas station, and asked the clerk if their diesel pumps were open, Calgoheros said. The clerk told him the diesel was “full of ethanol,” and the pumps were closed.
But when he spoke to the station manager, the manager denied there had been any problem. The Citizen could not independently confirm the diesel fuel was contaminated with ethanol.
When Calogheros reached out with his experience on a Prince George based social media group, dozens of other people commented with similar concerns. He said he’s worried someone will end up paying the cost of repairing their vehicle themselves, because they didn’t hear about the issue.
In an email, spokespeople for Cenovus Energy, the parent company of Husky Canada, said it was notified earlier this month about a problem and has established a claims process for its customers.
“We were notified April 12 of a mechanical issue at the Prince George Refinery, which impacted diesel fuel supplied to select Husky retail sites in B.C. and our supply partners,” the email said. “As a precaution, we shut down the diesel dispensers, tested and pumped out the fuel at the potentially impacted locations. All locations are now open.”
The company has established a claims process for people who have purchased the contaminated diesel.
“They can submit a claim, with proof of purchase of the diesel (date/time) and a mechanic’s diagnosis, through 1-888-858-1476 or online at https://ca-uat-fnol-users-ui.claims.global/diesel_incident/submit,” the email said.
In an email, a spokesperson for Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure Ltd., which operates the Prince George Refinery, said the company regrets the incident and the company is working with its customers.
"On April 11, Tidewater identified a potential mechanical failure in the loading system at the Prince George Refinery, which resulted in the delivery of seasonal diesel fuel that did not meet required specifications to certain customers between April 5 and April 11," the email said. "The impacted loading mechanism and associated sales tank were shut down and isolated and a new tank was tested, certified and brought online to serve customers’ needs. All affected customers were immediately notified. The company has multiple loading racks and ongoing service to customers will not be affected. Importantly, there were no injuries to employees or customers, and no threat to public safety during this process."
The company believes it has identified, tested and replaced all the potentially-impacted fuel deliveries, the statement added. "Tidewater is continuing to coordinate with customers to responsibly assess and respond to all concerns related to the use of this fuel. Anyone concerned about the quality of diesel fuel purchased during or shortly after this period is recommended to contact Tidewater Quality Control at [email protected]."
