Mobile hairdresser Eleni Lewis has said that fuel costs are always at the forefront of her mind when planning jobs. The 28-year-old from Pontyates in Carmarthenshire noted that her monthly fuel spend of £200 has a significant impact on her business. While average prices for fuel in Wales are currently lower than the UK average, they remain higher than those in Northern Ireland, which consistently has some of the cheapest fuel in the UK. The RAC has said that the example of Northern Ireland shows that fuel “can be sold cheaper than it is”. However, the body representing fuel retailers argued that its members were facing higher operating costs as well as investing in new technology for electric vehicles.
Ms Lewis explained that she keeps an eye on fuel prices at petrol stations in her area to mitigate costs as much as possible. In the week beginning 17 June, average prices in Wales were 144p per litre for petrol and 148p for diesel. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland had prices of around 141p per litre of petrol and 142p per litre of diesel, according to the RAC. The head of policy at the RAC, Simon Williams, questioned why drivers are not paying prices nearer to those in Northern Ireland, adding that there are more independent forecourts in the area than in other parts of the UK. Williams suggested that this led to better competition and cheaper prices for fuel.
Last year, the Competition and Markets Authority found that “increased supermarket fuel margins led to drivers paying an extra 6p per litre”, and called for a fuel finder scheme to enable drivers to get instant access to prices, which the UK government has accepted. The Petrol Retailers Association has noted that there have been significant increases in operating costs, decreased fuel volumes since the pandemic and the need to invest substantially in transitioning to a low-carbon transportation system. The association argued that these issues mean that fuel retailers need to earn more from fuel sales in order to stay in business and invest in the future.
Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats are calling for the Rural Fuel Duty Relief Scheme, which offers price discounts to retailers that are passed on to customers in 21 areas of the UK, to be expanded. This currently does not apply to any areas in Wales. Labour has pledged to tackle soaring car insurance costs by calling in regulators to curb the causes of price increases. Meanwhile, the Conservatives are committed to delivering their Pumpwatch scheme, which will require petrol retailers to share live information on their prices. They added that they have frozen fuel duty at every budget since 2010
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