(Alliance News) - UK supermarket executives will meet Energy Secretary Grant Shapps on Monday after he warned he would hold retailers to account if they charge "sky high" petrol prices for customers.
He will meet executives from Tesco PLC, Asda Stores Ltd, J Sainsbury PLC and Wm Morrisons Supermarket Ltd, as well as those from fuel specialists BP PLC, Shell PLC and Exxon Mobil Corp's Esso, on Monday afternoon.
Shapps is set to call on the retailers to share their fuel prices live by the end of next month as part of a scheme designed to prevent overcharging.
The UK's competition watchdog warned earlier this month that drivers in the UK paid an extra GBP900 million extra in fuel last year, as they were charged an extra 6 pence per litre more.
As a result, the Competition & Markets Authority said it would launch a voluntary scheme to provide customers with live, transparent fuel price data.
A number of supermarkets, such as Sainsbury's, have already said they would welcome the scheme.
Shapps is expected to tell the supermarkets he intends to pass legislation to enforce the scheme and said in the Sun newspaper over the weekend that he will make sure any reductions in wholesale fuel prices are passed on to customers.
He said: "I want to now hear how they are going to fix this. I will be telling them to do the right thing and immediately end any attempt to overcharge at the pumps."
Petrol and diesel prices soared to record levels last year following the Russian invasion of Ukraine but have since fallen back.
Nevertheless, the CMA started an investigation into UK fuel retailer earlier this year amid concerns that wholesale price reductions were not being full passed onto customers.
The regulator cautioned that competition was "not working as well as it should be" in its initial report.
The watchdog also launched a probe into supermarket grocery pricing over concerns that retailers could be profiteering from rampant food and drink inflation and is expected to unveil initial findings this month.
By Henry Saker-Clark, PA Deputy Business Editor
Press Association: Finance
source: PA
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