brand logo

CPC brings down sub-standard fuel?

02 Dec 2021

  • Private bus owners complain fuel ‘cheaper, low-quality’
  • Says no institute in SL to check standards
  • Energy Ministry defends quality of fuel
  • CPC says engine issues are due to bus drivers mixing diesel, kerosene
BY Shenal Fernando The Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) has filed a police complaint, alleging that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has resorted to importing cheaper, low-quality fuel, due to the existing foreign currency shortage in the country, resulting in their buses suffering breakdowns. When contacted by The Morning Business, LPBOA President Gemunu Wijeratne claimed that he had filed a complaint with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) that over the past two to three weeks, their members had reported that their buses were breaking down and that they believe the cause to be the inferior quality of fuel available in the market. He further alleged that this suspicion regarding the quality of fuel was strengthened by the decrease in fuel efficiency which has been noted over the past few weeks. Wijeratne stated that they had informed the IGP to examine the quality of the fuel that has been imported, but the issue is that there is no institute in Sri Lanka to test the quality of fuel. Moreover, he claimed the tests conducted by the CPC cannot be relied upon, because, according to him, it would be like asking the thief’s mother about the whereabouts of the thief since the CPC is the entity that imports the alleged low-quality fuel. He further drew parallels between this issue of low-quality fuel and the prevailing issue regarding the composition of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and claimed that the root cause in both issues is the lack of an independent entity to test them. “We have received various complaints by our members regarding the breakdown of their buses and we are currently going through them and hope to carry out an investigation regarding this. The biggest problem for us is the increase in fuel consumption. If we pump diesel to our buses, we cannot earn any profit,” stated Wijeratne. The Ministry of Energy emphatically denied the recent allegations made by the LPBOA.  Speaking to The Morning Business, Ministry of Energy Secretary K.D.R. Olga described these allegations as pure fabrications and claimed that certain people are trying to utilise the situation in the country to create public fear. She also pointed out that previous attempts were made to create public fear regarding a gas shortage and when that failed, she claimed that they had now resorted to making allegations that the fuel imported is of inferior quality. “What I can say regarding this issue is that we have not imported fuel of an inferior quality and that all fuel is tested before being brought into the country. The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Ltd. (CPSTL) have their own fuel-testing laboratories. Further, under the tender conditions, the fuel is tested prior to loading by an independent inspector at the port of loading and once the fuel reaches Sri Lanka, samples will be taken and tested before the fuel is unloaded,” stated Olga. Moreover, CPC Chairman Sumith Wijesinghe too dismissed these allegations and claimed that the private bus drivers shouldn’t be complaining due to engine troubles when they are known to pump kerosene to their buses since it’s cheaper. “When you pump kerosene to your bus, the deterioration of the bus engine is inevitable. Once you use kerosene because it’s cheaper, after three years it’s cheaper to replace the engine,” stated Wijesinghe. He further noted that he had scheduled a press conference to be held today (2) morning, where he intends to address these allegations, and expressed: “I have informed the IGP to take the necessary legal measures to stop the use of kerosene by public bus owners.” Previously, Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila, at a press conference held in early November, commenting on the shortage of kerosene in the country, claimed that the significant gap in prices between diesel (Rs. 111) and kerosene (Rs. 73) has resulted in the increased utilisation of kerosene by bus owners. This increased demand for kerosene was described as unsustainable by Gammanpila, who claimed that kerosene was sold at a subsidised price by the CPC in order to provide some relief to farmers and fishermen. He further claimed that the CPC bears a loss of Rs. 33 per litre of kerosene, which translates to a daily loss of Rs. 23 million. Therefore, according to him, the supply of kerosene to areas where fishing and agriculture are not prevalent industries will be limited, as its continued misuse by businessmen will inevitably lead to a situation where it would be impossible to continue to grant this relief to persons who actually require it.


More News..