Emergency government petrol rationing plans will prioritise motorists | UK | News
Certain groups will be given priority in gasoline rations (Image: Getty)
Plans are being prepared for gasoline and diesel rationing to be implemented by the government if the ongoing crisis in the Middle East continues to disrupt supply and push prices up.
This week, the Labor Treasury minister did not rule out the possibility of rationing gasoline and diesel due to the ongoing conflict in Iran and supply shortages in the Strait of Hormuz; This has already caused an increase in gasoline prices and cases of shortages at some gas stations.
The Ministry of Energy Security and Net Zero has prepared plans within the scope of the National Fuel Emergency Plan, outlining how rationing will work in practice if implemented and who will be prioritized.
Fuel prices at the pumps have increased recently; The RAC confirmed that the average price of unleaded petrol is currently 141.5p and diesel is 160.3p; both represent 18-month highs for the fuel.
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The National Contingency Plan for Fuel specifies who will be given first access to fuel. It states that emergency services and ‘critical service vehicles’ will be given priority over all other drivers.
Utilities such as gas and electricity providers and water companies will be next, followed by public transport, including buses and diesel trains. Priority will then be given to commercial vehicles, such as trucks carrying food to and from supermarkets, and health-related deliveries.
Finally, ordinary drivers may face restrictions on the amount of gasoline they can purchase at a time and may also face reduced operating hours at gas stations.
The document explains: “The majority of potential fuel supply disruptions can be addressed by measures to help industry maintain fuel supplies, which will be implemented by DESNZ in coordination with industry and other government departments.
“However, the government has emergency powers under the Energy Act 1976 that it can use to control the supply and demand of petroleum products. It should be noted that the use of these emergency powers is reserved for the most severe disruptions.
Rising oil prices could push inflation up (Image: Getty Images)
“These measures will only come into effect in the event of a severe national fuel supply shortage.”
Asked whether the government was preparing to implement such plans, Dan Tomlinson told Times Radio: “It is too early to say at the moment what the impact of this crisis will be in the coming months.
“What we have seen in the last two weeks is a sharp rise in the cost of oil used to heat people’s homes and the Government has stepped in and said we will provide £50 million of support to people across the UK who depend on heating oil.”
The government has listed exactly who will get priority if fuel is rationed (Image: undefined)
Asked whether the government was making contingency plans to ration oil, Mr Tomlinson said: “We will monitor the situation and monitor it carefully.”
Louisa James, Political Correspondent for ITV’s Good Morning Britain, warned on Tuesday morning: “Experts are warning that a serious oil and gas shortage is now just weeks away. “As you can imagine, the government has contingency plans in place in the event of a major outage.
“These are being published online and include things like petrol rationing, provision of emergency services and public transport priority for fuel. It has also been reported that a temporary speed limit of 80 kilometers per hour has been introduced to reduce fuel demand. A government source told us the UK has a ‘diverse and resilient’ fuel supply, with petrol stations well stocked and imports coming in.”
