THE only company supplying fuel to the Western Isles has been asked to explain the latest petrol and diesel price increases.
The move follows concerns that garages are putting up prices ahead of the introduction of a 5p discount just approved by the European Union.
Earlier this week Europe paved the way for a fuel discount scheme in Orkney and Shetland, the Inner and Outer Hebrides and the Clyde islands, as well as the Scilly Isles off the Cornish coast of England.
The scheme, which could be introduced as early as November, will be a welcome boost for hard-pressed motorists struggling to cope with some of the highest petrol and diesel prices in Europe. Yesterday a litre of unleaded at Stornoway was 150.9p, while diesel was 153.9p.
Since the discount announcement prices have gone up by 3p a litre on Lewis and Harris.
Western Isles council convener Alex MacDonald said: “I am not blaming the garages, but I think questions need to be asked of the distributors as to whether or not they are doing this because of their anticipation of the 5p reduction in prices. There is no point in reducing fuel by 5p a litre if the benefit is lost and consumers continue to pay the inflated prices.”
Local MSP Alasdair Allan wrote to supplier Scottish Fuels yesterday asking for an explanation of its fuel policy, and the Office of Fair Trading to raise concerns earlier measures have failed to address the company’s monopoly. He said: “We saw in the past Scottish Fuels drop their price dramatically in one day when they thought there was a risk of competition. Now, it could be argued, prices are rising when they see a prospect of a tax reduction.
“People in the islands are increasingly worried about the enormous gap that now exists between island fuel prices and those in the cities, and it would be very unfortunate if the very modest discount being introduced by the government was effectively cancelled out by the actions of any fuel supplier.”
A spokesman for Scottish Fuel denied it had put the price up ahead of the 5p discount. “We have no such plans and have never had such plans,” he said.
The spokesman said the company, like others, was affected by the high cost of fuel and transportation. He said: “We have a formula in place to track the market. The formula works in that we check the market rates for the five previous active days and that sets the price for the next week. The price will go down next week.”