MBB: TotalEnergies raises diesel prices to R27.50 per litre amid supply crunch

Key topics:TotalEnergies raises diesel prices to R27.50 per litre in SA.Price hike guided by leaked letter urging gradual R8/litre increase.Increase due to global supply crisis and higher logistics costs..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox every morning on weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Myles Illidge.TotalEnergies has hiked diesel prices at its fuel stations across South Africa, charging R27.50 per litre at the pump.MyBroadband spotted the higher price at a TotalEnergies station in Douglasdale, Johannesburg, and Netwerk24 reports that the company sent a letter to filling station owners instructing them to raise prices.According to the letter, which was leaked, TotalEnergies instructed owners to gradually increase their diesel pump prices by R8 per litre.“TotalEnergies Marketing South Africa (TMSA) recommended precautionary measures to be taken at service station level to avoid potential stock-outs,” the letter said.“TMSA recommends, if not done already, to gradually increase the price of diesel to the anticipated price increase on 1 April 2026, thereby negating an abnormal demand in respect of service stations.”It sent the letter after observing a notable increase in diesel sales across its network and anticipating heightened demand..Read more:.Winter planting at risk as surging diesel hits South Africa’s grain farms.“Please note that the current global crisis has resulted in an overall increase of R6 per litre in TMSA’s wholesale prices and extraordinary logistics costs,” TotalEnergies said.“TMSA will apply this increase with effect from Wednesday, 25 March 2026.”The company recommended that filling station owners increase their pump prices gradually, as follows:Wednesday, 25 March 2026: increase by an additional R6.00 per litre;Thursday, 26 March 2026: increase by an additional R1.00 per litre; and,Friday, 27 March 2026: increase by an additional R1.00 per litre.According to Netwerk24, a TotalEnergies station in Bloemfontein has already raised its price by R8 per litre on Wednesday morning.An employee at a TotalEnergies station in Goodwood, Cape Town, confirmed that there had been an overnight increase at the filling station.These increases come despite the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources not publishing new wholesale diesel prices until next week.MyBroadband asked TotalEnergies for comment, but it hadn’t answered our questions by the time of publication..This article was first published by MyBroadband and is republished with permission.

MBB: TotalEnergies raises diesel prices to R27.50 per litre amid supply crunch

Related Stories

Ian Cameron: 30 detectives, 3 chairs, 1 laptop

Dr Duarte da Silva: The richest beggar on earth

SABC's TV licence era nears its end as new funding model due by March 2027

FT's Edward Luce: Why Trump is going for Zelenskyy’s jugular