Aotearoa's major fuel companies are being told to "please explain" themselves after the Commerce Commission found "concerning" pricing differences across the country.
One year after the new Fuel Industry Act regulatory regime was introduced, the Commission has found "concerning" variations and pricing levels of fuel "with no clear underlying factors".
Commerce Commission chair John Small said the latest Quarterly Fuel Monitoring Report found seemingly random price differences between cities and towns.
"We’re writing to all the major fuel companies in New Zealand to ask them to please explain what we’ve seen in some of the pricing levels observed as part of our analysis feeding into Quarterly Fuel Monitoring Reports," Small said.
The Commission said it's working with fuel companies to understand how prices are being decided and whether they're justified.
"The Commission has responsibilities for monitoring and regulating fuel markets under the Fuel Industry Act 2020. The purpose of the Act is to promote competition in fuel markets for the long-term benefit of consumers," the Commission said.
Small said an indicator of a competitive market is when the price reflects the cost to supply the fuel but that's not what the Commission is seeing with large differences noticed within the same cities.
"These pricing differences do not appear to be explained by differences in the underlying costs."
He said petrol stations in some towns and cities are charging "a lot more for what is essentially the same product with similar cost components".
The latest report by the Commission shows motorists in Whangārei are paying more for fuel than other cities. But Small said the difference cannot be easily explained by the data supplied to the Commission.
"Marsden Point is our nearest port to major fuel sources like Singapore and South Korea, and being near the Marsden Point import terminal means higher prices can’t simply be explained by higher ocean or local transport costs. Land costs in Whangārei don’t shed any light on these prices either."
Small said Hamilton has some of the lowest prices across the motu, another anomaly he wants an answer for.
"This significant variation in pricing is of concern to us so we are asking the major fuel companies to help us understand the data being reported to us," Small said.
