UK Government Suspends Competition Law to Tackle Fuel Supply Crisis
September 27 2021 - 2:06AM
Dow Jones News
By Jaime Llinares Taboada
The U.K. government has exempted the fuel-retail industry from a
competition law in order to ease the supply issues affecting the
country's petrol stations.
Following a meeting with industry executives, the government on
Sunday evening agreed to temporarily exempt companies from the
Competition Act 1998 for sharing information and optimizing
supply.
"While there has always been and continues to be plenty of fuel
at refineries and terminals, we are aware that there have been some
issues with supply chains. This is why we will enact the Downstream
Oil Protocol to ensure industry can share vital information and
work together more effectively to ensure disruption is minimised,"
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said.
On Friday, the U.K. Petroleum Industry Association admitted
temporary forecourt grade-outs in parts of the U.K., caused by
delays in the supply chain due to haulier driver shortages.
On Thursday, BP told Dow Jones Newswires that it was
experiencing fuel supply issues at some of its U.K. retail sites,
with "a handful" of sites temporarily closed due to a lack of
unleaded and diesel grades.
Earlier this weekend, the U.K. government announced increases in
heavy goods vehicle testing, short-term visas for HGV drivers and
new HGV skills bootcamps.
Write to Jaime Llinares Taboada at jaime.llinares@wsj.com;
@JaimeLlinaresT
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 27, 2021 01:51 ET (05:51 GMT)
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