Fuel issue leads to rationing

Tuesday 31: A fuel pricing issue in Aitutaki last week left the island dangerously close to running out of petrol and diesel.

On Saturday the price order was issued which allows petrol to be sold for a maximum of $2.80 per litre from this week.

Businessman Teina Bishop had shut down his petrol pumps last Wednesday after being warned to stop selling fuel he had not obtained a price order for.

The pumps were closed with a sign attached saying, “Petrol closed due to advice from price tribunal Rarotonga.”

Earlier in the week a notice posted at the petrol station read, “Due to additional petrol stock bought from Toa Petroleum Rarotonga on board v115, a new price of $2.85 will be incurred as of 24 March.”

The fuel pricing review committee in Rarotonga had been notified by an island administration officer in Aitutaki about the price Bishop was trying to charge without a new price order.

Aquila Rentals Ltd in Amuri was the only petrol retailer supplying fuel – but they began to ration that last week. They were still selling petrol at a price under the $2.60 per litre maximum.

But by Saturday Aquila’s had run out of diesel and there was a growing queue of vehicles trying to get petrol which they would only sell in $20 amounts. Bikes could be filled too, but customers were told petrol containers would not be filled at all.

On Friday Bishop told CINews that he was waiting for a price order from Rarotonga before opening his pumps again.

Fuel pricing committee member Helen Maunga says it was only after Bishop was warned not to sell above the previous Aitutaki price order maximum that he applied for a new price.

Bishop says he intended to apply for a price order and in the meantime had used Toa’s price order for the southern group islands to set his price.

He said the 19,000 litres of petrol he had bought in on a previous shipment had run out in three days. This forced him to buy 10,000 litres of higher priced petrol from Toa last month. - HG