SA fuel retailers may have to spend as much as R230m to upgrade fuel pumps to reflect a four-digit fuel price. <\/p>\n
According to the SA Petroleum Industry Association (Sapia), about 18500 fuel dispensers will need to be upgraded or replaced to deal with the price of fuel shooting through R10\/l Sapia says about 1350 retail sites have been affected by the price of diesel rising above that level. <\/p>\n
Kevin Sheel, the retail business manager for Engen, which has a market share of about 27%, says up to three different kinds of upgrades will be needed on Engen’s forecourts and in its forecourt shops. <\/p>\n
The first step was a software upgrade — which has already been completed. Electronic components will need to be replaced, and in the most extreme cases the fuel pump as well. <\/p>\n
Sheel estimates that the upgrades could cost the company about R60m. This amount, Sheel stresses, is a ballpark estimate and can vary depending on what decisions are ultimately made. <\/p>\n
The industry has been given until the end of December to complete the upgrades. At sites with pumps that can accommodate only R9,99\/l, all prices and volumes have been divided by 10, and stickers that indicate that prices must be multiplied by that number have been stuck next to the relevant counters. <\/p>\n
It is not clear yet how the industry will choose to fund this, and an approach to government for support has not been ruled out. <\/p>\n