petrol-pumps

It has asked retailers and consumer groups to share their views by 5 December

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a consultation on how it will use its new powers to gather information for the road fuel monitoring function.

It is calling on fuel retailers, consumer groups, and other interested stakeholders to share their views by 5 December on who the CMA will request information from, how information is provided and how often.

Once the powers come into force in January, the CMA will have legal authority to exercise ongoing scrutiny of petrol and diesel prices to encourage effective competition between retailers and keeping prices low for drivers.

The CMA was granted the new powers under the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which was passed in the wash-up in May.

Separately, the government will establish an open data fuel finder scheme which will allow consumers to easily compare prices – such as through map apps and sat-navs – and make retailers compete harder for their business.

A temporary open data scheme is currently ongoing, with 15 retailers voluntarily providing price data daily, including Tesco, Asda, BP and MFG, covering around 40% of UK forecourts and 65% of fuel sold. The government is aiming to launch the mandatory fuel finder scheme by the end of next year.

The fuel monitoring function and open data scheme were recommended by the CMA following its market study in July 2023, which found competition in the retail sector for petrol and diesel has weakened in recent years, meaning that drivers are paying more than they should be for road fuel.