I filled up before I left and paid $1.72 per litre in Armidale but when it came time to refuel, even in remote areas in the west, I paid as low as a $1.42 per litre. Clearly, we are paying a premium here in Armidale. 

Naturally I ended up using different brands of diesel fuel along the way and was amazed at the difference in quality of diesel and corresponding difference in fuel economy. 

After some investigation into the standard of diesel it appears there are two levels: diesel 1 and diesel 2. This might explain why I noticed an increase of roughly 15 per cent in fuel economy between the diesel bought at two different outlets. 

When prices are displayed at the service station there is no indication if they are selling diesel 1 or diesel 2 and so the customer has no way of really telling what quality of diesel they’re getting. If the ACCC is going to investigate the pricing of fuel maybe they should also investigate the quality and labeling standards of diesel fuel.

Rob Taber

Armidale