Mysuru: The ‘dynamic’ daily pricing of fuel that had been introduced as a pilot project in a few cities in the country from May 1, will come into effect in the whole country from June 16. The consumers throughout the country will pay a different price for petrol and diesel every day, according to the State-owned oil companies.

The prices were revised daily in the pilot project, which was a success. Hence, it was decided to implement it all over the country. “Daily price revisions of petrol and diesel will make retail prices more reflective of the current market conditions, minimising volatility,” said a statement from the State-owned oil companies.

The dynamic pricing has been introduced following the international pattern and to bring about transparency. At present prices of petrol and diesel are revised on 1st and 16th of every month based on the average international price of fuel in the preceding fortnight and currency exchange rate.

The pilot project was introduced in Udaipur, Jamshedpur, Puducherry, Chandigarh and Vishakapatnam from May 1.

It may be recalled that Star of Mysore had spoken to Ravi Prakash Baid, a petrol bunk dealer in Vishakapatnam on May 2, where the dynamic daily pricing had been introduced and  he had said that he had two petrol bunks, one, inside the city and other on the National Highway. While the price of diesel had gone up by 44 paise and petrol by one paise in the whole of the country, in Vizag it had gone down by 9 paise for diesel and 90 paise for petrol.

There is also a move to publish the prices of petrol and diesel in newspapers, besides taking steps to establish an appropriate mechanism for conveying the prices to consumers on a daily basis.

S.K. Dinesh, Hon. President of Petroleum Dealers Association of Mysore, speaking to Star of Mysore, here this morning said, “In Mysuru city all the petrol bunks have been automated and the oil companies will effect the change which will automatically be recorded in the bunks. However, the issue is in the rural areas as none of the retail outlets there are automated. Besides, they do not have internet facilities and also one must understand they still are not tech savvy.”

Shape of things to come

As of now, the price of petrol varies in just one-and-a-half kilometre area from bunk to bunk. Here is an example, if the HPCL bunk in Fountain Circle sells petrol at Rs. 71.50 per litre, in Reliance bunk it is sold at Rs. 71.60, in BPCL at Rs. 71.48 and IOCL at Rs. 71.42, he said.

The prices will keep widening depending on the competition. If HPCL reduces by Re. 1, BPCL could increase by Rs. 2. However, once the dynamic pricing comes into effect from June 16, it could vary by just few paisas, he said.

Is the consumer going to benefit at all? The answer sadly is in the negative as the taxes like entry tax on crude, refinery processing charges, VAT and excise remain the same.