Brace for an increase in the price of petrol

The price of petrol will go up by 72 cents per litre next Wednesday‚ Minister of Energy Jeff Radebe has announced.

He said the main reasons for the increases were the increase in the fuel and road accident fun levies‚ a slight depreciation in the rand against the dollar‚ an increase in transport costs and a rise in crude oil and refined petroleum products.

Also listed as a contributing factor was the decommissioning of the Durban to Johannesburg pipeline (DJP) by Transnet‚ which meant that fuel supplied to certain zones would now have to be transported by road from Durban‚ Kroonstad and Sasolburg‚ which was more costly.

It was announced during the Budget speech in Parliament in February that the Fuel Fund Levy would be increased by 22c/l and the Road Accident Fund Levy by 30c/l.

The increase in transport costs which contributed to the hike in the petrol price is as a result of increases approved by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) to the pipeline transport tariff and road transport tariff increases announced by the Road Freight Association (RFA) in October 2017.

The price of diesel will go up by 65.2c/l and the retail price of LP gas by 39c/kg‚ but the wholesale price of illuminating paraffin will decrease by 2.3c/l.