FED: Shrinkage costs would outweigh benefits: RACQ

AAP General News (Australia)
08-26-1999
FED: Shrinkage costs would outweigh benefits: RACQ

BRISBANE, Aug 26 AAP - The costs of forcing oil companies to adjust for shrinkage in
wholesale petrol deliveries would outweigh the benefits, Queensland's motoring organisation
said today.

RACQ chief engineer Sam Weller was responding to the passage in the ACT yesterday of
legislation providing for temperature conversion controls on all wholesale fuel deliveries to
Canberra petrol stations.

Mr Weller said changes to equipment would have to be made "right down the chain" to
implement the new laws, and the costs involved would outweigh the benefits.

"Ideally it sounds the way to go but ... while there are perceived benefits in terms of
quantity, the actual effect could well be more expensive," Mr Weller said.

"You've got to do it right down the chain.

"If you've got a tanker on a hot day and it doesn't have temperature-conversion equipment,
it's going to deliver that station short, so the retailer has to either bear the loss or pass
it on."

Mr Weller said he was not aware if the proponents of the legislation had consulted the
authors of a recent study into temperature correction, but he believed the legislation was "a
feelgood-type thing".

"It's a bit of a knee-jerk reaction, and if it's going to be done, it's got to be done
nationally," he said.

Mr Weller said if advocates of temperature correction tried to have the measures introduced
in Queensland it would lead to "enormous costs".

AAP sd/it/br

KEYWORD: SHRINKAGE QLD

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