CMA launches consultation on fuel pricing

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

It has been charged with providing ongoing scrutiny of prices to encourage effective competition between retailers and help keep prices low for drivers. 

The CMA consultation is calling on fuel retailers, consumer groups, and other interested stakeholders to share their views on how the watchdog will use these information-gathering powers by December 5. 

This includes who the CMA will request information from, how information is provided and how often.

The fuel monitoring function has been created following a market study by the CMA, which found that 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. 

These new powers are established under the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The Government is aiming for these powers to come into force by January next year.  

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. 

The Government is aiming to launch the fuel finder scheme by the end of 2025.