NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 14 — Fuel prices will remain unchanged in the month-long period lapsing on February 14 affording Kenyans a slight relief amid high commodity prices.
In its latest fuel price review published on Saturday, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) maintained the price of petrol in Nairobi at Sh177.30 a litre.
Diesel will retail at Sh162.
The energy regulator noted that the price of diesel had been cross-subsidized with that of super petrol.
Cross-subsidization is when a marketer charges higher prices to a group of consumers in order to subsidise for another group.
In this case, it means petrol users will pay a higher price so as to afford diesel users a lower price.
A litre of kerosene will continue to retail at Sh145.94 with the government maintaining a Sh25.13 subsidy per litre to cushion consumers from the otherwise high prices.
“The Government will utilize the Petroleum Development Levy to compensate oil marketing companies for the difference in cost,” said EPRA.
In Mombasa, a litre of petrol will retail at Sh174.98, diesel at Sh159.76 and kerosene at Sh143.69 while in Kisumu a litre of petrol will retail at Sh177.50, diesel at Sh162.70 and kerosene at Sh146.66.
The prices are inclusive of the 8 per cent 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.
Cheaper landing rates
The energy regulator maintained the fuel prices despite a slight decrease in the landing cost of the commodities.
The average landed cost of imported Super Petrol decreased by 6.19 per cent from USD704.21 per cubic metre in November 2022 to USD660.65 in December 2022.
Diesel decreased by 11.08 per cent from USD920.44 per cubic metre to USD818.45.
Further, the landing cost of kerosene decreased by 4.07 per cent from USD851.31 per cubic metre to USD816.62.
