Petroleum dealers accuse ERC flouting fuel pricing rules

[Photo: Courtesy]

Petroleum dealers have accused the Energy Regulatory Commission of flouting the law by failing to publish wholesale prices in its monthly pricing guide.

Under the Association of Petrol Station Dealers, Transporters and Wholesalers, the dealers said the regulator had overlooked some provisions of the Petroleum Pricing Regulations of 2010 that ushered in price controls.

“The commission has not published transport costs and delivery rates although they are a key component of the retail pump prices in terms of Regulations 4(a) and (b). As a result, the wholesalers and transporters are eating into the mark-ups of the retailers, thereby reducing the maximum allowed margin for the retailer to uneconomic figures,” said the lobby’s chairman Francis Wanyange on Tuesday.

Legal redress

Since 2010, the regulator has published monthly recommended retail prices of kerosene, diesel and super petrol.

Mr Wanyange said the commission's failure to comply with the law would force them to seek legal redress, noting that previous appeals to that effect had been ignored. He also demanded that the commission involve the fuel traders in future determination of prices before publication.

“We are demanding that ERC publishes both retail and wholesale prices in future publications in compliance with energy regulations of 2010.”

The lobby’s demands come in the wake of reports that the Ministry of Energy could increase duty on the price of kerosene in coming weeks.