Regulatory BurdenProposedQuick WinMineral Resources and Energy

Fuel Price Regulation Reform — Partial Deregulation

Theme: Energy pricing

First raisedOct 2022Last discussedSept 2023Dormant — not discussed in 12+ months3 meetings on the record ↓

Generate Brief Compare Feasibility Matrix

Assessment

Growth Impact3/5

Feasibility3/5

Responsible: DMRE / National Treasury

Feasibility Assessment

Medium. Political sensitivity around petrol prices is high; phased margin deregulation is more achievable than full price liberalisation. Requires amendment to Petroleum Products Act.

Stakeholder Landscape

Who backs this reform, who needs convincing, and which interests or red lines shape political feasibility.

Reviewer

Open review workspace

Backers

2 stakeholders

Negotiation weight

0 conditional actors

Opposition weight

1 opposing actors

Review coverage

0/3

All mapped stance notes are still draft

Provenance warning

Every mapped stakeholder stance for this idea is still draft. The coalition score is directional only until at least the high-influence actors are reviewed.

Coalition Read

65/100Negotiable

Anchor: National Treasury. Most serious blocker: COSATU.

Political Tractability

—Needs reviewed signals

No reviewed signals · 0% of mapped influence has been reviewed.

Backers2 stakeholders

National TreasuryCoalition anchordraftInfluence 9/10

Fuel price partial deregulation could reduce administered price distortions that Treasury views as economically inefficient.

Interest: Fiscal consolidation with public debt stabilising below 75% of GDP; structural reforms that improve revenue without expanding contingent liabilities;…

Concern: Unfunded mandates in energy transition (JETP co-financing); Eskom's R400bn+ debt and how restructuring socialises costs; reform proposals that create…

Engagement path: Reforms must be fiscally neutral or revenue-positive over the MTEF window; SOE restructuring must demonstrably reduce contingent liabilities; credible…

Business Unity South Africa (BUSA)Coalition anchordraftInfluence 8/10

BUSA supports fuel price deregulation as it removes inefficient administered pricing and enables market competition.

Interest: Cross-sector structural reform across energy security, logistics efficiency, regulatory certainty, labour market flexibility, and digital infrastructu…

Concern: Slow implementation pace relative to policy announcements; inconsistency between reform rhetoric and regulatory decisions (e.g. NERSA tariff approvals…

Engagement path: Already actively engaged. Seeks implementation accountability mechanisms with published milestones, predictable regulatory timelines, and NEDLAC outco…

Opposition to Manage1 stakeholder

COSATUHigh-risk blockerdraftInfluence 9/10

COSATU opposes fuel price deregulation, fearing price increases in rural areas and for low-income commuters.

Interest: Worker protections under the Labour Relations Act and Basic Conditions of Employment Act; collective bargaining rights; equitable wage growth; just tr…

Concern: Labour market flexibility reforms that erode LRA and BCEA protections; Eskom unbundling without adequate just transition planning for NUM members; pri…

Engagement path: Meaningful social dialogue through NEDLAC before structural reforms are finalised; just transition funding ring-fenced in MTEF; skills retraining and…

Description

South Africa's regulated fuel price mechanism, governed by the DMRE, uses a basic fuel price formula based on international benchmarks plus fixed levies and distribution margins. Reform proposals call for partial deregulation of inland retail margins while retaining regulation of the fuel levy and RAF components. The existing single-price model suppresses investment in alternative fuels (LPG, CNG) and new market entrants. The Energy White Paper (2019) and Competition Commission market inquiry (2023) both identified the regulated model as a barrier to efficiency. Parliamentary BRRRs noted the coastal-to-inland cross-subsidy inflates logistics costs for manufacturing and agri-processing. Partial deregulation aligned with the Liquid Fuels Charter is the preferred approach.

Implementation Roadmap

South Africa's regulated fuel price model — governed by DMRE's Basic Fuel Price formula, fixed levies, and regulated distribution margins — creates structural inefficiencies: it suppresses investment in alternative fuels (LPG, CNG), protects incumbent refiners from competition, and cross-subsidises coastal-to-inland distribution at the cost of manufacturing and agri-processing competitiveness. The Competition Commission's 2023 Fuel Markets Inquiry recommended partial deregulation of inland retail margins while retaining regulation of the fuel levy and Road Accident Fund levy. The reform removes DMRE price controls on retail margins, introduces zone-based pricing eliminating the coastal-to-inland cross-subsidy, and allows market entry for LPG and CNG retailers. A regulated floor price mechanism protects against predatory pricing during the transition.

Publish the Fuels Sector Reform White Paper incorporating Competition Commission recommendations: partial deregulation of inland retail margins, zone-based pricing, LPG/CNG market entry framework, and retention of the Basic Fuel Price formula for crude import pricing

Q2 2025DMRE / Competition Commission

Amend the Petroleum Products Act 120 of 1977: remove DMRE retail margin price-fixing power; introduce zone-based wholesale pricing; add LPG and CNG licensing provisions

Q3 2025–Q2 2026DMRE / Department of Justice / Parliament

Implement zone-based wholesale pricing: NERSA to calculate and publish cost-of-supply zones for coastal vs. inland markets; introduce a two-zone wholesale price ceiling eliminating the blanket coastal-to-inland cross-subsidy

Parliamentary record

3 meetings

Committee sittings this reform was drawn from, most recent first. Each row opens the meeting on this site; the PMG link goes to the source record.

Status History

tracked since Mar 2026

Recorded as Proposed when status tracking began — held since at least Mar 2026.
Mar 2026

Data as of 2026-08-24 · latest PMG meeting 2026-08-21