Fuel: the government authorizes the sale of summer diesel until November 15 to limit price increases

Everything is good to limit the surge in fuel prices. This Tuesday, September 22, the government announced that it would exceptionally authorize distributors to sell summer quality diesel until November 15. Normally, distributors are required to market so-called “winter” diesel from November 1, the particularity of which is to better resist the cold. A decision motivated by the oil supply difficulties facing France, due to the situation in the Middle East.

“Distributors are authorized, exceptionally, to hold for sale and market diesel whose filterability limit temperature (TLF) is 0°C maximum instead of -15°C maximum after November 1, 2026,” writes the government in its authorization order. Behind the term “filtrability” lies the ability of diesel to pass through the engine filter. Like all oils, the liquid freezes when cooled. Above a certain threshold, it becomes too thick for the machine to function properly. The limit is zero degrees for summer diesel and -15 for its winter equivalent.

Increase stocks

Switching from one to the other requires manufacturing differences for the refiner. With this extension, the government wants to give the latter, like gas stations, time to sell off their summer stocks. At a time when France is facing supply difficulties, no scrap of fat can be put aside. The objective is therefore to put a little more raw material into circulation, in order to limit the increase in prices at the pump.

Be careful, however, that this boost is not a poisoned gift. The State has warned that beneficiaries of this measure will have to assume “full responsibility for any problem that may arise during the use of this diesel” and inform their customers of the risks of fuel freezing in areas prone to early frost, particularly in mountainous regions.