Minister for Energy Affordability and Skills, Amanda Solloway, has reported that she has met with tech companies to collaborate on the proposed PumpWatch scheme.
“The government and tech firms are working together to make sure PumpWatch is a success, so we can put hard-earned pounds back in families’ pockets,” she said, but the names of the tech companies she referred to have not been made public.
In its latest press release about the scheme, the government said it will “look to make fuel prices, updated within 30 minutes of changes, available to the public by the end of this year. The move will further drive competition and place even more power back into hands of consumers and motorists to get the cheapest fuel available in their area”.
Working with The AA, Confused.com, Go.Compare, PetrolPrices.com and RAC, the government said it is making sure the freely available data will be simple and easy to understand.
Commenting on PumpWatch, head of roads policy at The AA, Jack Cousens, said bringing tech firms into the picture would help and would lead to “innovative use of the price data”. He said an example of innovation was the Fuel Price Checker on Northern Ireland’s Consumer Council website. However, upon investigation, Forecourt Trader found that the website said it could not guarantee that its content was accurate, complete or up to date.
Meanwhile, CEO of Confused.com, Steve Dukes, said he believed encouraging fuel retailers to share up-to-date pricing information through the PumpWatch initiative would make a huge difference to drivers who are trying to manage costs.
“Naturally they may be tempted to go to their closest station. But being able to research cheaper pumps nearby could save a considerable amount of money when filling up. We hope that drivers having this transparency will only encourage retailers to be more competitive with their prices where they can.”
Managing director of PetrolPrices.com, Andrew Watson, said: “I know our two million users will welcome the changes PumpWatch will bring in making fuel prices more up to date, allowing consumers to make the best decision for themselves.”
Their comments come as recent Lumina Intelligence research, presented at the Forecourt Trader Summit, found that spiralling staff costs and rising crime were massive concerns for forecourt retailers.
• The government’s consultation on the PumpWatch scheme closed for comments last night (March 12). The PRA consulted with its members and responded to the consultation within the timeframe.
