R10 too much for some pumps

2008-05-05 08:27

Kim Snyders

Johannesburg - About 18 000 petrol pumps across the country will not be able to keep up with the rising petrol price once it goes above R10 per litre.

According to the department of minerals and energy about 30% of all the petrol pumps would not be able to read the price of petrol and diesel if it consisted of more than three digits.

These pumps do not have digital readings and were designed to show only three digits on their screens.

With the price of petrol threatening to rise above R10 per litre, the petrol industry is worried over how petrol stations were going to handle the situation.

Director of the Fuel Retailers Association Peter Morgan said the problem was picked up last month when the diesel price rose to above R10 per litre in some areas.

Not enough technicians

"It is a huge inconvenience for motorists and petrol stations. There aren't enough technicians to replace the pumps in such a short time," Morgan said.

"Oil companies must replace the pumps themselves because it is their own property, and this can take up to four months."

The petroleum industry and the department scurried around looking for solutions. The department of minerals and energy spokesperson Bheki Khumalo said Minister Buyelwa Sonijca would publicise on Monday which solutions they would be implementing.

One of the solutions that the department was considering was putting a sign on the pump indicating that the figure had to be multiplied by 10.

For example, if the price was R10,50 per litre, the pump would read R1,05 which would then have to be multiplied by 10.

Several solutions

"It is true that the minister is considering various solutions at the moment to help with the problem," Khumalo said.

"Several possible solutions were given by the industry. We are also going to ask the industry for a time estimate to give us an indication of how long it would take to replace the pumps."

- Beeld