The strong New South Wales line on gas tanker safety is being felt in the LPG supply chain, with a hefty number of Caltex outlets falling short.
It is understood that the consequences are being felt in the state taxi industry, due to the large market share Cootes has in gas transport.
“There is currently a shortage of LPG at some Caltex-supplied sites in NSW and the ACT due to the unavailability of a number of Cootes Transport distribution trucks,” the energy firm says.
“The issue is affecting approximately 25 per cent of sites that Caltex supplies with LPG.
“We anticipate that there will be continued outages of LPG at Caltex-supplied retail sites over the coming days.”
Caltex says it apologises to its customers for the inconvenience caused while it restores supply to affected areas.
“The disruption is isolated to LPG and only affects NSW and the ACT. Supply and distribution of all other products, including petrol, diesel and jet fuel, is unaffected,” it says
A BP spokesman says its supplies are also affected.
“We are seeing intermittent shortages and, with the current fleet, we are struggling to meet demand,” he adds.
The situation for LPG in the Sydney metropolitan area is beginning to resemble that which affected petrol during the Cootes tanker grounding of early October.
The State Government will hope the shortage of capacity will be short-lived.
In expressing his frustration at tanker safety and truck repair shortfalls last week, Roads Minister Duncan Gay said: “There are hundreds of drivers and trucks ready to take on the business if they continue to operate with defective vehicles.”