The idiotic law in force that each returned bottle of gas should be weighed and any liquid gas left in the bottle be refunded, may have to be scrapped because nobody involved could be bothered to follow the rules.
The current government has looked at the practicalities and, like the rest of the population, must have wondered how on earth such an unworkable law ever could have been passed in the first place.
The Secretary of State for Energy, Jorge Seguro Sanches, said rather politely that the measure was “impractical.” Sanches was keeping them all amused at an Economy, Innovation and Public Works committee meeting where. let's face it, humour is in short supply.
Bizarrely, Jorge Seguro Sanches said he thought that the law passed during the Passos Coelho administration, was a sort of 'voluntary' one.
"I think there was a lot of ‘volunteerism’ when it was proposed that every gas bottle seller should have scales to weigh the gas bottle and credit the customers with what was left in the bottle. I think it's voluntary," said Sanches, bringing a refreshing new slant to the laws of the land and appearing to encourage the public simply to ignore laws they don’t like.
But this stupidity is not over yet as Jorge Seguro Sanches explained that the new plan is to establish the average amount of gas left in the bottle and deducted this from the price charged to the customer.
Sanches did not say whether this was a contest for the most stupid alteration to an already ill-considered law, but readers can rest assured of the government’s innate ability to compound foolish legislative errors.
According to data from Deco, there are around 300 grams of gas left in each bottle and are, as a rule, returned to operators. The annual cost of this waste for each consumer has been estimated at around €72 a year but this figure, much bandied about my national media, does not say what rate of usage produces this figure.
The Secretary of State of Energy, keen to rid himself of this very silly matter, said it is one of the first key missions for the Energy Services Regulatory Authority as its new remit now covers the regulation of the gas sector. The ESRE no doubt will relish the challenge and produce a detailed report on the matter.
Then the National Council for Fuels and the Competition Authority both said the new law is "in order to avoid discriminatory treatment of consumers." It was all due to start in January 2016 but the National Authority for the Fuel Market said it needed to sort out how to regulate the retailers and ensure safety.
The National Association of Fuel Distributors said there is a high risk of consumers putting other liquids inside the empty bottles to get a refund. The residual gas suddenly released may cause an explosion.
"There may be consumers who take off the safety valve and add liquid other than gas just to get money. Nowhere in the world there is such a scheme, not even in Africa," said José Reis of the association, who doubtless will attract criticism for his sharp criticism of African health and safety proceedures.
Back in October 2015, the head of Galp Energia said "We're still trying to understand some of the issues underlying the legislation and we do not see how some of the measures can be implemented," adding that new law is "technically complex and there are security risks" and that "the legislature must be able to find a common sense solution."
Common sense is in short supply.
