New plans announced to make fuel pricing more competitive
Early this week, the government published new proposals to make fuel prices more transparent for drivers, promising to put motorists “back in the driving seat” by forcing fuel suppliers to keep their pump prices constantly updated.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, which championed the change, said that its Pumpwatch proposals could save customers as much as 3p per litre. And of course, any easing of financial pressure on everyday motorists is good news for fleet operators, as it has the potential to help reduce the worryingly high levels of fuel theft, especially skimming.
Here's what you need to know!
What does the Pumpwatch scheme involve?
Essentially, the Pumpwatch scheme would legally require all fuel stations to share live information on their pump prices, and update them within 30 minutes of any change.
As well as giving drivers key information right there and then, there’s also a hope that the scheme will provide freely available pump price data that can then be used by third parties (such as tech companies and app developers) to provide new ways for drivers to search for the cheapest fuel. This could include via apps journey mapping tools, price comparison websites, or in-car devices.
There are several good precedents for its success already – there’s an existing transparency service in Northern Ireland, for example, and something similar has already been trialled in Queensland, Australia, where drivers were found to have saved an average of £48 annually ($93).
Why is this happening now?
Pumpwatch is being brought in partially as a direct response to an investigation from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The CMA found no evidence of price fixing from fuel suppliers, but it did find that the average annual supermarket fuel margins increased significantly from 2019 to 2022, representing a rise of 6p per litre. To pt that into perspective, that’s the equivalent of drivers being overcharged £900 million in 2022, because supermarkets failed to pass on cuts from falling oil prices.
In the wake of this investigation, the government appointed the CMA as the body responsible for monitoring the fuel duty market. It’s already running an interim voluntary scheme for retailers to share their daily prices, which twelve of the biggest retailers have signed up to (including all four fuel-selling supermarkets).
What does this mean for you?
Over the last few years, there’s been mounting financial pressure on motorists over fuel prices., and it’s been linked to rising fuel theft from company fleets. While some of this comes from external sources like passing opportunists (and in rare cases, gang activity), the vast majority of it comes from internal employees skimming fuel. In fact, this makes up the vast majority of fuel theft – largely because many of them don’t see this as an actual crime, rather a perk of the job.
While obviously this measure alone isn’t likely to completely curb the rising tide of fuel theft across the UK, it’s hopefully the first step to taking at least some of the worst financial pressure off drivers. And of course, anything that makes any kind of a dent in fuel theft statistics is good news for fleet operators!
It’s obviously far from a satisfactory solution to ongoing economic pressures, however, so it’s still worth ensuring that you’ve taken proper measures to guarantee the safety of your fuel. And that’s exactly where we come in here at TankSafe, with one of the most effective anti-siphon devices on the market.
TankSafe Optimum is an antisiphon device which we’ve specifically designed to provide 100% protection, so you can have peace of mind against fuel spills, overfilling, and skimming.
You can find out more on its dedicated page on our website, or find out answers to some of the most common questions over on our FAQs page. If you’ve still got queries, our experts will be happy to resolve them - fee free to give us a quick call on 01253 400 401, and we’ll be happy to help however we can!