Advertisement

Exclusive: Government’s switch to greener fuel was ‘major factor’ behind petrol crisis

Vehicles queue to refill at a BP petrol station in Waltham Abbey - Henry Nicholls
Vehicles queue to refill at a BP petrol station in Waltham Abbey - Henry Nicholls

The Government’s switch to greener petrol last month was a “major factor” behind the fuel crisis that saw forecourts across the country run dry, industry chiefs have revealed.

Retailers said they had already been “emptying their tanks as fast as we could” for the switchover to E10 petrol when a sudden surge in panic buying quickly drained their remaining stocks.

According to official figures released on Thursday, fuel deliveries to petrol stations remained steady over the summer and throughout most of September despite warnings of a slowdown caused by a shortage of HGV drivers.

Yet the amount of spare fuel stored at forecourts fell sharply by up to a quarter after Sept 1, when the Government introduced greener E10 fuel as the standard unleaded petrol.

When motorists began panic buying on Sept 24, garages across the country found they did not have enough in their storage tanks to keep up with demand.

Brian Madderson, the chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association, said the data showed that the fuel crisis had been an “unintended consequence” of the Government’s switch to greener petrol.

“For weeks we had been emptying our tanks of E5, the old fuel, as fast as we could to get ready for E10. We had all run our petrol stocks down,” Mr Madderson said.

“So when the panic buying started, many of our members ran out pretty quickly. Then the shortage of HGV drivers meant we couldn’t get supplies of petrol or diesel quickly enough.

“I don’t blame the Government particularly but the E10 switchover clearly had an unintended consequence: we couldn’t cope with the surge in demand.”

Watch: Military tanker drivers take to roads to ease fuel crisis

Ministers rolled out E10, which is blended with a minimum of 5.5 per cent biofuel, as the standard unleaded petrol from Sept 1. Previously the regular unleaded was E5, although E10 has been on sale for some time in the UK and many European countries. The move was an interim step to help the UK reach its target of net zero emissions by 2030.

Mr Madderson said some smaller petrol stations had been in the process of switching their storage facilities when the crisis hit because E10’s higher ethanol content can burn through rubber.

“That can take time,” he said.

Many fuel retailers including Asda have opted to sell only E10 at their sites. BP has said only some sites will be selling E5, while 200 of Esso’s 1,200 petrol stations are no longer selling the old grade.

According to the figures released on Thursday by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Industrial Strategy, deliveries for road fuel remained steady throughout the summer, averaging around 16,000 litres of petrol and diesel per station each day from mid-June to the end of August.

This constant supply meant that pump stock levels hovered at 40 per cent full, at most rising or falling by one or two percentage points in the same period.

Yet from Sept 1 onwards, forecourts across the UK began to see a steady and pronounced decline in fuel stocks, even before the shortages burst into public attention.

By Sept 16 – a week before panic-buying began – average stock levels had fallen from 40 per cent to 34 per cent. By Thursday Sept 23 – the day of a notorious leaked BP warning that supplies were running low due to a lack of HGV drivers – stock levels were already at 32 per cent.

London and the East of England in particular saw the sharpest pre-panic-buying declines, with stock levels falling by more more than a quarter between Sept 1 and Sept 23.

It was not until Friday, Sept 24 that the stock crisis snowballed, with demand more than doubling. Having remained constant throughout the summer, daily road fuel sales lept from around 15,000 litres per station in the week prior to Sept 24 to more than 35,000 on the Friday.

By Saturday, Sept 25, pumps across the country were empty, with average road fuel stocks reaching a daily low of 15 per cent full.

Watch: Fuel supply crisis - Industry accuses govt of 'inept prioritisation' as London, South East and East still low on petrol

According to a PRA survey, 12 per cent of filling stations in London and the South East were still dry on Thursday, while 17 per cent had just one grade of fuel. Around 90 per cent of forecourts outside London and the South East had both grades available.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said shortages have been "most keenly felt by smaller retailers who don't tend to buy fuel as frequently".

He added: "Following the recent rush on the pumps, the vast majority of retailers needed to replenish their stocks at the same time which put enormous stress on supply chains."

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "There is no evidence to suggest that the introduction of E10 was related to the fuel shortage. The fuel issues we have seen in recent weeks were caused by an unprecedented spike in demand caused by atypical consumer behaviour.

"The legislation that the Government put in place to introduce E10 allows fuel retailers to still use existing stocks until 1 November as part of a gradual change, so there was no need for the emptying of storage tanks. This timeframe was extensively discussed and agreed with stakeholders."

What is E10 petrol?

E10 petrol contains up to 10 per cent ethanol, double the level in the type previously commonly used in the UK, E5.

It was introduced at the start of September by the Government in a bid to make driving more eco-friendly.

How is it better for the environment?

The ethanol in the fuel is made from natural sources like grains, rather than the petroleum oil that makes up the bulk of the fuel used in cars which run on petrol or diesel.

This means lower emissions, because the process of growing the crops also removes carbon from the air.

The Government says the switch could cut carbon dioxide emissions by 750,000 tonnes a year, the equivalent of taking 350,000 cars off the roads in the UK.

Critics are concerned about the land use involved in using food to make fuel and argue that the process of growing the crops may not actually offset the emissions released when the fuel is burned.

The change also does not solve the problem of air pollution from vehicles and its impact on people's health.

Is it less efficient?

Drivers may get fewer miles to the gallon with E10 petrol. The Government says drivers "may see a reduction of around one per cent but it is unlikely to be noticeable in everyday driving".

For the typical UK car which does 49.2 miles per gallon, this would mean a fall to 48.7, though some drivers have reported larger drops.

Can I use it in my car?

It can be used in over 90 per cent of the cars on UK roads, but it's not recommended for use in some classic cars and lawnmowers.

Ethanol is a solvent so it can damage rubber, plastic and fibreglass parts.

The ethanol in the fuel also attracts water, causing the engine to become contaminated which leads to corrosion issues.

This is particularly an issue if a car is left to sit with the fuel inside it for long periods, which is more common for classic cars which may only be driven rarely.