The entry into force of the 20-cent discount on the price of a liter of fuel is causing chaos at service stations. Computer crash, long queues, closed gas stations… From the sector they assure that the worst is yet to come and closures due to fuel shortages are not even ruled out.
Today, Friday, April 1, 2022, one of the star measures of the Government of Spain has come into force to stop the escalation in fuel prices. And it is neither more nor less than a direct discount of 20 cents on a liter of fuel. A reduction that will be in force until June 30 and which will be taken care of by both the State and the oil companies. Specifically, 15 cents are paid by the State and the remaining 5 cents fall to the oil companies.
The measure has generated a lot of interest and expectation from the point of view of the consumer. And it is applicable to all citizens, whether professionals or individuals. Unfortunately, the worst forecasts have been complicated on this first day of application of the long-awaited reduction. Computer crashes, long queues, closed refueling stations…
Loading tweet…
1509836763119898625
Long queues to refuel and gas stations closed
Thousands of drivers have gone on the hunt for “reduced fuel.” The service stations have been overwhelmed by the influx of thousands of vehicles who have postponed the previous days refueling to benefit today from the aid. And it is that we remember that Pedro Sánchez himself, President of the Government, confirmed the aid of 20 cents last Monday, March 28.
The scenes of collapse have not been long in coming and numerous images of long queues behind the pumps are circulating on social networks. But, and if this were not enough, to this must be added the technical problems. Or rather computerized, which are being produced at fuel refueling stations in order to apply the discount when formalizing the payment.
From the Spanish Association of Retail Vendors of Fuels and Fuels (AEVECAR) they assure that the 3,000 gas stations they represent are having computer problems due to the limited time available to adapt their collection systems. On the other hand, and from the Spanish Confederation of Service Station Entrepreneurs (CEES), approximately 125 gas stations have been closed due to said computer problems and doubts about the collection of the discount.
Loading tweet…
1509805346998607873
On certain gas stations have chosen to make payments only in cash in order to benefit from the discount. One more obstacle to the correct operation and, above all, for the payment of large amounts of fuel. BP and Shell are registering numerous problems and even some of their service stations have had to temporarily close until they are resolved and they can offer the service to their customers.
Repsol gas stations suffer a collapse due to the massive arrival of customers
An important part of problems are concentrating on Repsol gas stations. The popular energy multinational has launched a promotional campaign announcing that it was improving the discount applied by the Government to 30 cents per liter. An advertising claim that has captured the attention of thousands of customers who have approached its gas stations. The result has been as expected. Long queues, collapse of information and failure of the payment system.
The loyalty program Repsol includes an additional discount of 10 cents euro to the 20 already set as a minimum to reach the aforementioned 30 cents per refueled liter. At some Repsol service stations, as we have previously pointed out, they have opted to accept only cash payments.
The company itself acknowledges that “there has been a peak in operations and this is slowing down the system.” Repsol has approximately 3,300 service stations nationwide. The statement issued by Repsol also indicates that they hope that the problems will be solved throughout the day and that in the coming days it will be possible to operate completely normally.
Source:
The World / Reason / EFE / Repsol