No relief for motorists as fuel prices remain unchanged

A motorist fuels at Rubis Petrol Station along Koinange Street, Nairobi. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Motorists and households will continue to feel the pinch after the government retains fuel prices for another 30 days, despite growing pressure for a reduction.

The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), in its latest review, has maintained pump prices for the November 14 to December 15 pricing cycle.

A litre of super petrol will continue to retail at Sh226.96 in Nairobi, while diesel and kerosene will cost Sh227.76 and Sh219.87, respectively.

EPRA attributed the decision to government subsidies through the Petroleum Development Levy Fund, which it said would help cushion consumers from rising import costs.

“Taking into account the weighted average cost of imported refined petroleum products during the period under review, the maximum allowed retail pump prices for super petrol, diesel and kerosene remain unchanged,” EPRA said in a statement.

“The Government has applied Sh4.6 billion from the Petroleum Development Levy Fund to stabilise the computed petroleum pump prices for the November-December 2026 cycle.”

Without the government intervention, EPRA says, petrol prices would have risen by Sh8.58 per litre, diesel by Sh10.54 and kerosene by Sh1.16 per litre. 

In Mombasa, petrol will retail at Sh223.81 per litre, while diesel and kerosene will cost Sh224.61 and Sh216.71, respectively.

Last month, EPRA raised fuel prices by as much as Sh28 per litre, triggering protests from motorists and consumers.

Transport sector stakeholders, including the Matatu Owners Association, threatened to suspend operations unless the government reduced fuel prices.

However, commuters continued to bear the cost of higher fuel prices, with public transport fares rising by as much as Sh50 in some areas.