Cost of filling a car may jump by €10 overnight if excise cut reversed

The cost of filling a car with petrol or diesel could jump by about €10 overnight if the Government moves to scrap the excise cut on motor fuel at the end of this month, the AA has warned.

Its prediction came as it released its latest pricing survey which suggests that the cost of fuel at the pumps has been relatively steady since the start of the year.

The average petrol price across the state is €1.65 per litre in February, 2.5 per cent more than in January, while diesel has dropped slightly, with the average at €1.68 per litre, 1.7 per cent less than last month.

The average petrol user now spends around €2,003 per year on fuel, the average diesel buyer €1,680 and the average EV driver €1,306 on electricity, meaning EV driving costs about around 34 per cent less than running an equivalent petrol vehicle when it comes to fuelling.

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The latest prices remain pretty stable, despite the introduction of an EU-wide ban on importation of Russian oil products, which came into effect on February 5th.

The proposed end to the excise duty on petrol and diesel at the end of February will increase fuel prices by 15 cents per litre for diesel and 20 cents per litre for petrol, the AA said, as it called for the increase to be staggered to avoid difficulties at fuel stations.

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“We need clarity around the possible switching off [of] the excise duty reductions overnight [which] will inevitably lead to anxiety leading up to the end of February, which could lead to tailback at filling stations or pumps running dry in certain areas. A more prudent approach would be to stagger this over two to three months,” said AA spokesman Paddy Comyn.

Mr Comyn also highlighted a lack of awareness of the introduction of a new fuel blend to Ireland, E10.

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According to the Climate Action Plan 2021 (CAP21), there is a target to raise the blend proportion of biofuels in road transport to at least B20 (biodiesel) in diesel and E10 (Ethanol) in petrol to achieve a 51 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030.

Government policy says that switching to E10 “delivers an immediate climate-change mitigation measure using the existing vehicle fleet. The vast majority of petrol cars are compatible with E10 and there is no need to adapt them to take advantage of the benefits of this lower-carbon fuel”.

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It also pointed out that drivers may notice a slight increase of up to 2 per cent fuel consumption with E10 petrol due to the lower energy content of bioethanol compared to the regular fossil-fuel equivalent, petrol.

“A recent AA Ireland Twitter account survey showed that 91 per cent of respondents had never heard of the fuel,” Mr Comyn noted.