Kenyan motorists are set to dig deeper into their pockets in order to afford fuel. This is after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) announced that it is planning to increase oil dealer margins.
According to a report that appeared in a local business newspaper on Thursday, EPRA will increase the the margins for fuel retailers by Sh4.59 per litre. The finance charge shall also be increased by Sh0.69 per litre.
Wholesalers’ margins will be increased by Sh1.64 per litre while transport margins will go up by Sh0.64 per litre. At the same time, tariffs charged on secondary storage will go up by Sh0.235.
These increases will be the first adjustments since 2018 when similar charges went up to Sh12.36 per litre. Consequently, the report noted, the oil dealer margins and oil transport costs will increase by Sh7.75 per litre for diesel and Sh7.67 per litre for kerosene. The price of petrol on the other hand will increase by Sh7.80 per litre.
According to the EPRA, these adjustments are meant to reflect the supply chain expenses that are currently in the market. “It is important that we reflect the market realities of today in the price-regulated environment,” EPRA Director General Daniel Kiptoo said.
Kenyans shunning ‘overpriced’ Sh2.5 million second hand Toyota Premio
Kiptoo added that it has been years since the increases were done and it is necessary to adjust the costs upwards to keep oil marketers in business.
“We have transporters who have not had an increase since 2010, and it is today 2025 — 15 years later. This is a question we need to ask ourselves as Kenyans: If those businesses close, it is your sister, a relative, a Kenyan who is going to lose a job, isn’t it?” he stated.
“If we don’t do our role as a regulator to ensure we balance the interests of investors and consumers, tomorrow the question will be: where was the regulator when this business was shutting down or moving to other jurisdictions?”
However, the EPRA boss said that the implementation of these price changes will be done gradually to avoid excessive economic disruptions that could be caused by sudden spikes in cost of fuel at the pump.
“We want to time it at a point when it will not impact the consumer negatively, and we want to apply it when petroleum pump prices are coming down,” he said.
