Competition law suspended?

Jfc this era

Any of RoF's resident competition experts explain what this means in practical terms please?

And no, critical thinkers, I'm not looking for what someone on Facebook says.

It’s a total misdescription isn’t it? Hardly surprising from this bunch of crooks. Presumably they mean suspend temporarily the rules regulating the market which normally stop companies acting in concert or as a cartel. Lydia will know. 

It means that you can tell your competitors just how low on fuel your own petrol stations are so you can raise prices all at the same time in the same place because supply and demand. I love me a black market! Also a great business opportunity for those with a full tank and some empty bottles to siphon their petrol from their cars and sell it in 2-litre (sorry half gallon) bottles by the roadside, Kosovo 1999 style.

Then you call the Army to provide free fuel transport because you outsourced drivers and now you don't have enough.

R4 just now had some dude explaining it was about sharing info and letting petrol companies use each others tankers! he went onto say that different companies use different additives so risks of contamination.

What i dont get is if a petrol company has serious supply problems at its outlets why would it let another company use its tankers, sounds like a logistical nightmare that requires detailed planning and systems that probably cant be constructed over night.

they did this last year too just before lockdown, for supermarkets etc, to ensure that retail food and other supplies were continuous.

I haven't read what's actually been said (because boring) but i assume that what the CMA has done is said that competing petrol companies can get together and share info on short term deliveries, schedules, fuel amounts etc, to ensure that customers aren't disadvantaged in these panic buying times and there is enough for everyone. the "suspension" of law will be very limited and won't apply to eg fuel pricing or medium/long term supply.

Essentially the types of confidential info that can be shared and acted upon will be very restricted and the excuse is that it is allowed as it benefits consumers - the CMA would (threaten to) clamp down on any parties that share beyond the scope of what it considers allowable.