Gasohol shortage: Govt threatens fuel hoarders with jail
Service station operators who refuse to sell available fuel to customers face fines, jail time or both, the Energy Ministry warned on Wednesday.
The threat came a day after numerous stations across the country claimed to have run out of gasohol 91 and 95 after the government imposed three-month price cuts for both fuels on Tuesday.
“Following public complaints, the ministry is investigating these stations to ensure there are no attempts to hoard fuel,” said ministry spokesman Pongpol Yodmuangcharoen.
Service stations reduced the price of gasohol 91 by 2.5 baht per litre and gasohol 95 by 1 baht on Tuesday in line with the government’s three-month price cap to reduce people’s financial burden.
The Energy Ministry insisted the price caps should not affect fuel retailers’ profits as they are being funded by fuel-tax cuts and subsidy.
Several fuel retailers told Thansettakij news on Wednesday that they had stopped replenishing their stocks on November 1 and sold all their remaining fuel at the old prices to avoid losses when the price cap came into effect on November 7.
“We had to do this because the government is not subsiding sellers for the difference in benzene and gasohol prices,” a station operator said.
After running dry on November 6, most stations started ordering fuel under the new prices on the morning of November 7, said another operator. This could have resulted in interruptions to supplies at the pumps, he added.
“Since many stations are ordering at the same time, deliveries are currently backed up,” he said. “It could take until Friday [November 10] before some stations have fuel to sell.”
Fuel retailers caught hoarding stocks face a fine of up to 140,000 baht and/or seven years in jail, the Energy Ministry warned.
