JOHANNESBURG – From midnight, motorists are expected to make their way to nearby petrol stations as the petrol price decreases by 67 cents per litre from midnight.
The Department of Energy announced the good news last Friday.
A litre of petrol in Gauteng will from midnight cost motorists R13,66 down from R14,33.
The price of diesel will drop by between 24 cents and 25 cents a litre.
The department says the reason behind the decrease is that the average rand to the dollar exchange rate decreased.
The department also says that the slate levy on petrol and diesel is also being stopped.
Meanwhile, the department has proposed South African motorists shift from petrol to diesel cars.
The idea is part of the department’s wider fuel efficiency drive.
Officials were briefing Members of Parliament (MPs) in Parliament’s Energy Portfolio Committee earlier today about developments in the liquid fuel sector.
The Department of Energy’s Tseliso Maqubela says he wants South Africans to debate this issue.
“The mechanics on how actually this gets done will come out of this debate.”
He says in the long run, diesel is more cost effective and better for the environment.
He however says the quality of diesel available locally is of concern.
The department hasn’t nailed down the details of this proposal but the change could start with government’s own fleet.
The department’s deputy director-general for petroleum and petroleum product regulations, Tseliso Maqubela, told Parliament’s energy portfolio committee on Tuesday that while there were a lot of benefits to converting to diesel engines, proper cost calculations still had to be done.
“We do need a calculator to show that in the short term it may cost (motorists) to migrate to diesel (from petrol), but there will be cost savings in the long run.”
Petroleum industry consultant Colin McClelland said diesel was seen as more fuel-efficient than petrol as it weighed more.
“Fuel efficiency is based on weight and not consumption. A litre of petrol weighs about 720g, while a litre of diesel weighs 830g. So diesel is therefore more efficient,” he said.
Mr Maqubela said no definite plans had been put in place yet and some kind of incentive might be needed to encourage motorists to move to diesel.
“We are thinking of approaching the Treasury to possibly develop some kind of tax incentive to encourage the change of behaviour of motorists.”
Another idea being developed in the department was to get the government to lead the way in switching to diesel vehicles, when it bought new vehicles.
Democratic Alliance MP Lance Greyling said that while switching to diesel engines was a good idea, there were concerns about the quality of South Africa’s diesel.
Mr Maqubela said the department had funds to increase the number of inspectors checking that petrol stations were selling diesel with the correct sulphur content.
South African Petroleum Industry Association environmental adviser Anton Moldan said South Africa’s refineries were flexible enough to produce more diesel if required. “We have seen a natural increase in the number of diesel vehicles being sold, and so the refineries have to meet demand. What they can’t produce, they already import.”
However, he said, the industry needed to get an idea of how far the government wanted to change from petrol to diesel, so it could plan.
Mr McClelland said the government had various tools with which to influence motorists’ behaviour to encourage them to switch to diesel. These included higher licence fees for petrol vehicles or reducing the fuel tax slightly in favour of diesel.
