A reader contacted the Editorial Office, outraged by the level of fuel prices in our city:
What’s going on with fuel prices in our Bolesławiec again? Is fuel brought directly to us from the sheikhs? Or is Bolesławiec’s private business simply still trying to make more money? Regards.
As evidence of the significant price difference, the reader attached photos showing prices taken at filling stations in Lubusz Voivodeship and in Kłodzko (Lower Silesian Voivodeship).
And indeed, compared with those stations, Bolesławiec is much more expensive. The difference in the prices of 95-octane petrol and diesel is as much as 20–30 groszy per litre.
Why is fuel so expensive in Bolesławiec?
The answer is simple. It is because of the pricing policy of the companies that decide on prices at their stations in our region. If a given station has sufficient demand for fuel at a higher price, it will sell it more expensively. That is how the market works. It is worth noting that, when it comes to high prices relative to other stations, such situations have occurred in Bolesławiec before.
In the past, we asked the two largest fuel producers and sellers in Poland, Orlen and Lotos, why fuel in Bolesławiec was 20–25 groszy more expensive than at other stations of the same companies in the region.
Excerpt from Lotos’s response:
(...) In response to your message, we would like to inform you that retail fuel prices at stations are set in accordance with the Company’s pricing strategy, which is individual for each location.
The pricing policy depends on the specifics of a given micro-market. In a changing environment, it is natural for fuel prices to vary at different stations and in different parts of the country.
Excerpt from Orlen’s response:
(...) In addition to these independent factors (raw material prices, the dollar exchange rate, etc.—Editorial Office’s note), local conditions in which a given facility operates are also significant. These include differences in land prices, station operating and maintenance costs (e.g. wages), as well as differences in sales potential. The station’s immediate competitive environment is also important.
For this reason, prices at individual stations may differ and are adjusted daily in response to changing local and macroeconomic conditions.
We would also like to point out that franchise stations are a separate case, as pricing decisions there are made exclusively by the owner of the facility.