Gasoline price: government wants to monitor the drop at the station – 10/30/2023 – Market

The federal government wants to create the National Fuel Distribution System Operator to monitor prices at the pumps after cuts announced by Petrobras.

The government’s assessment is that reductions in refineries do not reach the consumer, while increases are applied at greater scales and speed.

The announcement was made by the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, who is taking part in a meeting on the energy sector in Belo Horizonte this Monday morning.

According to Silveira, with the creation of the body, legal actions will be possible to curb, for example, the practice of cartels.

The statement was made alongside the president of Petrobras, Jean Paul Prates, who is also participating in the meeting, during a conversation with journalists. The formatting of the operator is being completed, according to the minister.

Silveira said that the operator will be created so that it can be guaranteed that the price will fall at the pump when the reductions are made. According to the minister, the ANP (National Petroleum Agency) has limitations in carrying out this inspection.

Silveira compared the body to be created with those existing in the Brazilian electrical system. “We want it to be complementary with the ANP, just as the ONS (National System Operator) is complementary with Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency).”

The president of Petrobras, who claimed to speak on the topic as an “observer”, mentioned that the recent reduction in gasoline and diesel did not reach consumers in the way the government expected. Already an increase was passed on to the pumps more quickly, he said.

“The increase, when it was given in August, arrived quickly. The expected impact was R$0.42. There were places where the final point for the consumer, the increase reached R$2.50. I’m not here accusing gas stations necessarily, there is a whole chain to get there”, he stated.