The Government has responded to their consultation on changes to fuel pump labelling, confirming that forecourts will be required to be compliant with the new regulations from 1st September 2019.
From this date, forecourts will have to comply with the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive which requires fuel pumps and nozzles to display new labels which state whether the fuel is E5 Petrol or B7 Diesel.
The regulations, to be laid in Parliament shortly, will contain the format of the labels (the labelling standards from BSI) which will allow forecourt retailers five months to prepare. Further guidance and communication materials will be available from beginning of June 2019 for forecourts to communicate the changes to their staff and customers. ACS had previously called on the government to allow a six month transition period for forecourts to transition to the new labels.
ACS chief executive, James Lowman said: “We welcome reassurances from the government that the format of the new fuel labels will be available shortly. This will allow forecourts to prepare for the transition to the new labels earlier than the three month turnaround initially proposed. Businesses with a larger number of sites will need longer to transition to the new labels and we will continue to work with government officials on how the transition can be as smooth as possible for these retailers, as well as providing Assured Advice on this topic.”
The Government has not responded to the questions in the consultation about the introduction of E10 petrol.
ACS’ full submission to the Department for Transport’s consultation is available here: https://www.acs.org.uk/lobbying/dft-e10-petrol-consumer-protection-and-fuel-pump-labelling
The government’s response to the consultation is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/781676/road-fuel-labelling-government-repsonse.pdf
