OfReg still working on fuel price transparency
(CNS): More than five years after it was created, the Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg) is still working on some of the key aims and objectives that it was supposed to address. One of the main goals was to determine how the pump price for gas is calculated and whether it is fair, an issue that is currently of significant public concern as prices rise to an all-time high of $7 plus per gallon.
Speaking at a recent open media event, Executive Director of Fuels Duke Munroe said amendments would soon be made to legislation that will shine more light on the cost of fuel.
He said that OfReg was doing its best “to get the message out” and it now has access to some of the key numbers. He said he could confirm that there is no collusion between the two wholesale suppliers but admitted that the regulator cannot make all the numbers public yet and that some elements of the calculation remain opaque, even to the regulator.
Nevertheless, Munroe said he was confident that neither the suppliers nor the owners of gas stations, many of which are now actually owned by the wholesalers, are ripping anyone off.
OfReg does not have the power to set prices at the pump but it can monitor prices and ensure they are in line with global prices. He said the regulator was currently closely monitoring fuel costs, given the high prices, to ensure that they were no worse here than comparative jurisdictions.
OfReg has long been criticised for dragging its feet over this broader assessment of the market and how prices are calculated here. However, Munroe said there were some challenges for OfReg in the beginning and it took time to complete the market assessment to create the basis for regulation. He said that transparency in pricing was already improving and it was set to get better.
Munroe said that OfReg is now focused on creating transparency on the costs from refinery to gas station and is now exploring regulatory intervention at the wholesale level. In the interim, the regulator is looking at ways that it can also be more transparent about what it knows about how prices are calculated, but is currently prevented from revealing that information due to corporate sensitivity and privacy legislation.
OfReg’s goal, he said, is to ensure a fuel market where efficient regulatory costs and market pricing result in a positive economic impact on consumers and the country.
But answering the age-old question in Cayman as to why prices here are always quick to rise when oil prices spike but very slow to come down when the worldwide prices begin to decline remains elusive. Munroe explained that the proposed amendments to the law would provide OfReg with a much better understanding of how the wholesalers are pricing fuel, from when they purchase it on the world market to the price they sell it to the gas station. He said the legislative changes would also allow OfReg to better explain the price of gas to the public.
But given the size of the Cayman Islands and the impact of global oil prices, it will always be difficult to secure the most competitive prices at the pump, though recent surveys conducted by OfReg demonstrated that Cayman’s pump price already compares well to other countries in the region.
Retail gas prices are published on OfReg’s website weekly, allowing consumers to find the best prices. There is also a frequently-asked-questions page on the website which gives consumers information on why fuel prices are rising and how prices are set in Cayman.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
It’s the Cayman way!
Fuel is generally quite transparent. If you find it’s not, I’d suggest maybe not putting it in your vehicle.
How are the weekly posts of fuel prices to the OffReg website useful to the public when the gas stations here are notorious for changes prices on a daily basis? Sometime more than once a day?
Lol really how many years later……
What a joke
i could work this puzle out in 30 mins…all you need is the base price of imported fuel.
So…OfReg actually admits to working on something?
Lol 😂
I don’t believe it.
Its probably a misprint.
What ever became of the hundreds of thousands that was spent on consultants from Hong Kong????? WTF…LTFOL>
It was spent by some partying Chinese.
Sniffles
another glorious day for the civil service….lodge-reg on a highly paid, slow boat to nowhere
Ofreg is not civil service and it’s salaries reflect that fact. They are enormous.
You’re right that OfReg is not a part of the civil service, but it is wholly a part of CIG and so paid for by the tax (duty and other CIG fees) of those of us who live here.
oil went to $96 dollars a barrel today from $115 last week, they need to show proof of when they bought the gasoline because i dont understand how we paying almost $10 a gallon, and i’m speaking in US dollars here. Ofreg is buddy buddy with the greedy in Cayman.
You are paying for an imperial gallon, unless you are one of those idiots who fills up at the marina’s thinking they are getting cheaper gas. But your point remains valid otherwise.
Those $96 barrels of oil are a long way from any Cayman gas pump, and it’s back up to $105 today. Look up the fob gasoline prices in Texas, Trinidad, and Mexican ports if you want to know what affects prices here.
Munroe? Hmmm wonder why he is front stage now…did he find his desk finally after climbing out of his oversized SUV that he doesn’t pay gas for?
Nothing ever changes…just more smoke and mirrors!
Just Another useless department to keep cronies employed
Expect anything really?
Isn’t the interim chairman the same government stooge who got rid of centralized HR and accounting functions, and in so doing exploded the civil service numbers on payroll, with each office now having an entire hierarchy of HR and accounts “Professionals” hired.
Many non locals!
Then tried to export the failed system into the Caribbean, but they wisely rejected it!
Yes. The old New Zealand Model, I think it was called by George and Pete
They’ll get it sorted, just a couple years before the fuel runs out as a resource in the earth.
Perfect timing! Rising sea levels should have us under the seas by then as the newest pandemic envelops the earth.
Ok thanks!
In my opinion OfReg is nothing but another government payola scheme for friends and family. Pitiful!
That seems logical.
Work faster
Hopefully
It’s what you call milking it, or making gravy, or there’s another phrase involving a dog and profanity. Idiots, derelicts, dipsticks, protected for life it seems…
You don’t have to say it most pronounced, fools. 🤞🏻👊🏻
Duke has been around since the old Fuels Inspectorate days, with a deliberate career emphasis on protecting the margins of retail business owners and fuel distributors. He was rewarded for that public betrayal by being carried over and promoted at the new OfReg. Don’t expect any transparency from his desk. He doesn’t work for us. He tried for years to suppress the identity of stations selling dirty gas, and even now, doesn’t chase up lab reports showing striking anomalies.
Just not true. Sigh.
The fuels inspectorate was tasked with safety and quality only. It had no remit whatsoever re economic issues and pricing.
And just not a true comment re supposed “dirty gas”.
It’s such a shame that CNS does not do any fact checking of the comments posted here, as rumors, supposition and speculation does not equal proven facts.
I bet you also think the US election was stolen, climate change is not real, the covid vaccines are purely trackers for Bill Gates and 5g is going to turn us all into aliens.
Failure
Every word that you wrote is false. But of course you wrote them as if you know what you are talking about so many will be fooled. Well done.
My friend, NOBODY associated with OfReg that I am aware of has EVER done anything for anyone other than themselves……. and their friends and families of course.
And their Lodge bruddas.
I’m sorry but I have no faith in OfReg. They present as an entity created to defend and speak for the fuel suppliers – not the consumers. All these years and their huge SUV’s and still no clarity or value for money!
I work in a government dept with vehicles and we are told we are not allowed to use them for any personal business whatsoever (which we follow). But I see huge Ofreg vehicles on the school run every day.
Close it down!!!
Transfer all the staff to Travel Cayman!
Has anyone got a “travel authorisation” from travel Cayman since the requirement for a pcr test is gone? This week the confirmation email still says you need a pcr test… #worldclass
To be fair I got one last week. But it was virtually instantaneous – automatically generated by the system as soon as I provided the QR code for vaccination. Which rather generates the question as to what exactly b they are doing. No supervision of isolation anymore. No quarantine on arrival now. So what do they actually do?
I have no confidence at all that this will be done. It has been YEARS and we get no where. I didn’t used to believe all the corruption theorists out there, but now I do.
Sad state we’re in.
But this is supposed to be one of the main objectives of offreg. Come on Mr Chairman its time to pull your socks up and earn that huge pay you and your private sector colleagues receive.
Stop the excuses.
I remain of the view that if offreg cannot achieve its main purpose 8 years after it was set up. We need to start over.
Maybe their main purpose is getting something for themselves!
We apparently don’t know how to get honest people where they are needed.
Hopefully you are hearing me, brother.