Motorists will be forced to dig deeper into their pockets after the Energy & Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) announced new fuel prices that will take effect from 15th May 2023 to 14th June 2023.
Diesel will now retail at Ksh 6.40 more, super petrol at Ksh 3.40 more, and kerosene at Ksh 15.19 more per litre. This comes as the government removed the diesel and kerosene subsidies.
In a press lease notice, EPRA stated that the fuel prices are inclusive of 8% VAT.
“The fuel prices are inclusive of the 8% Value Added Tax (VAT) in line with the provisions of the Finance Act 2018, the Tax Laws (Amendment) Act 2020, and the revised rates for excise duty adjusted for inflation as per Legal Notice No. 194 of 2020.”
Major Town Fuel Prices
This means if you are in Mombasa, you will pay 179.86 per litre for super petrol, 165.57 for diesel, and 158.30 for kerosene. In Nairobi, you will part with 182.70 for petrol, 168.40 for diesel, and 161.13 for kerosene. Kisumu will be 182.53 for petrol, 168.60 for diesel, and 161.35 for kerosene.
The new prices, however, contradict what President William Ruto said in the second media roundtable on Sunday regarding cuts to reduce fuel prices. Some of the taxes he purported to remove on fuel include road development levy, IDF, and VAT on gas.
Why the Sudden High Prices?
According to EPRA, the average landed cost of imported super petrol rose by 8.63% from USD 666.51 per cubic metre in March 2023 to USD 724.01 in April 2023. Diesel dropped to 2.51% from USD 705.82 per cubic metre to USD 688.07. Kerosene also saw a drop of 1.13% from USD 707.53 to USD 699.54 per cubic metre.
The Free On Board (FOB) price of Murban crude oil lifted in April was placed at USD 83.36 per barrel. This is an increase of 0.88% from USD 82.63 per barrel in March. Meanwhile, the mean monthly USD to KSH exchange rate increased by 0.47% from KSH 139.61 per USD in March to KSH 138.96 per USD in April.
EPRA explains these numbers and regulations.
“The purpose of the Petroleum Pricing Regulations is to cap the retail prices of petroleum products which are already in the country so that importation and other prudently incurred costs are recovered while ensuring reasonable prices to consumers.”
How will this affect you?
Photo: Courtesy
Be prepared to spend more on household commodities like cooking oil, sugar, and maize flour among other things. This automatically happens due to increased transportation costs incurred by businessmen and women where additional expenses are pushed to the consumer.
The public transportation sector is also set to hike fares countrywide to keep their business running.
Electricity cost is said to increase hence you will be paying more for both prepaid and postpaid customer services. In short, the cost of living will gradually increase, affecting everyone despite what you do.
Conclusion
The Energy & Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) assures the public that it is committed to observing fair competition. This is to protect the interests of consumers and investors in the energy and petroleum sectors.
