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ARCHIVED - Spain likely to make changes to fuel discount in July
The government is examining a voucher or refund system in Spain as oil companies continue to raise fuel prices
Despite several warnings from the Ministry of Finance, many of the bigger oil companies have hiked up their prices to compensate for the 20 cent per litre discount on fuel implemented by the Spanish government last month.
As it stands, 15 cents of the customer savings are covered by the government, while oil companies have to fork out the remaining 5 cents. Hundreds of businesses were sanctioned in April for increasing their prices before the bonus scheme came into effect and since then, diesel has skyrocketed past 2 euros per litre in many service stations.
As the war in Ukraine drags on and the European Commission threatens to veto all Russian oil and gas imports, fuel prices are only going to go up, and one option the Ministry of Finance is currently considering is some kind of voucher system to ensure that the most vulnerable continue to enjoy the petrol and diesel discount after July.
Many experts have argued that this scheme would be impossible to implement, but the Ministry is looking at measures such as fuel vouchers that would be redeemed at the till, or retrospective refunds, to ensure that cheap fuel continues to be available to those who most need it.
Any decision will be heavily dependent on the National Markets and Competition Committee’s analysis on fuel prices closer to the time, but today, petrol is three cents a litre more than at the beginning of April, while each litre of diesel is six cents more expensive.
In the meantime, the Spanish government has reiterated its warning that the general fuel discount will be scrapped at the beginning of July if the big oil companies continue upping their prices to “absorb” the costs.
"We all have to do our bit," Nadia Calviño, the Minister of Economic Affairs concluded.
Image: Archive
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