Why petrol is costing more at the pump
Petrol price cycles in Australia are highly volatile at the best of times, but Vivek Dhar, mining and energy economist at Commonwealth Bank, said there were two main reasons why petrol prices across the country have surged in the past week.
“One has been a tightening of oil markets, and that’s driven by one resilient demand, as well as OPEC+ supply cuts, which is a group of countries that control about 40 per cent of global supply,” he said.
"That has, for us, been instrumental in driving oil prices higher and tightening oil markets.
“The second factor has been a fall in the Australian dollar … and as the Australian dollar falls, it makes it more expensive to buy petrol.”
Also this seems important:
Those wholesale price movements make up around 85 per cent of what motorists pay at the pump … while the remaining 15 per cent is from retail price movement.
Unfortunately commercial charging rates make them much less attractive for anyone without both the space and time to charge them at home or lucky enough to work or otherwise spend extended time at a location with slow charging available.
Rates in Melbourne are now approaching $0.70 per kW/h for fast charging which puts things like the Ioniq 6 at about $10 / 100km and most other EVs a little more. You can run an efficient ICE car for that or close to even at current fuel prices, and spend a hell of a lot less on buying it.
A DC fast charger costs something like $60,000. Fast charging is probably always going to be substantially more expensive than slower charging.
We need more slow charging installed in parking garages and shopping centres.
Slow charging needs to be basically ubiquitous. Even on street parking should provide for it in busier areas. Particularly where on street parking is your only parking at home.
Just saw the most interesting bodgy setup in Brunswick, with the charging cable ran through the stormwater drain leading to the house.
Yeah fairly common to see in the inner west now as well. People don’t have a tonne of choice but it’s not particularly safe, either electrically or for pedestrians who may not necessarily be able to navigate over the top of it all.
Very cold areas already have power outlets all over car parks, because the petrol cars need to plug in their electric engine block heaters otherwise they won’t start.
Nothing stopping us from doing the same.