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P FUEL PRICING
Page 14
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Diesel galore? OFT rejects a Western Isles fuel survey...
By Christopher Walton HAULIERS ON THE Shetland Isles, Orkney and the Western Isles of Scotland will continue to face higher fuel prices than the rest of the UK after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) rejected proposals for an official investigation.
Over the course of 2008, the difference in fuel prices between the Western Isles and the mainland has varied between 9p/litre and 30p/litre. Hauliers in the area tell CM that regularly filling up on the mainland can cause practical difficulties.
Hector MacDonald, director of Hebrides Haulage. says: "It is posing a problem because of the additional running costs. The pump price here is 112.9p/ litre, while we pay 95.68p/litre on the mainland. What I don't understand is that on some of the other islands. such as Skye and Oban, diesel is a similar price to that on the mainland.
Angus MacNeil, MP for Na hEileanan an Jar (the Western Isles constituency). tells CM that he met with the OFT before Christmas to ask for an investigation into high fuel prices in the area, but the proposal was rejected.
He says the disparity comes from the type of contract drawn up by the distributors of fuel to the islands, which fixes the price at a monthly average rather than the daily price set across Europe.
"The OFT needs to muscle up and show its teeth. If we can only buy fuel from one contractor then that is unfair."
A spokeswoman for the OFT said: "From previous studies and continued monitoring of the market, the OFT has generally found that factors such as higher costs and lower sales per outlet to be important reasons for higher fuel prices in remote areas."
The distributor to the Western Isles is Scottish Fuels. Despite being contacted by CM, it was not available for comment.