Reprieve for motorists as fuel prices drop

Fuel attendant

A pump attendant fills a tank at a petrol station in Nyeri town on September 14, 2020.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

Motorists have been handed a reprieve after fuel prices dropped in the latest monthly price review by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).

Motorists will from tomorrow pay Sh1.42 less for a litre of petrol, while the price of a litre of diesel and kerosene have reduced by Sh2.21 and Sh2.10 respectively.

This means that a litre of petrol will now retail at Sh105.85 at the pump in Nairobi, while diesel will sell at Sh90.7 per litre, and kerosene at Sh81.63 for the same quantity.

Motorists in Nakuru, meanwhile, will pay Sh105.56 for a litre of petrol, Sh90.63 for diesel and Sh81.59 for kerosene, while those in Eldoret will part with Sh106.48 for a litre of petrol, while diesel and kerosene will retail at Sh91.56 and Sh82.51 respectively for the same amount.

"In accordance with Section 101(y) of the Petroleum Act 2019, Legal Notice No. 196 of 2010 and Legal Notice No. 26 of 2012, [EPRA] has calculated the maximum wholesale and retail prices of petroleum products that will be in force from November 15 to December 14, 2020," EPRA on Saturday said in a notice.

"Super petrol, diesel and kerosene will now retail at Sh105.85, Sh90.70 and Sh81.63 respectively in Nairobi starting midnight," the notice read.

The regulator attributed the fall in prices to a decrease in the average landed cost of importing fuel in the month of October.

The cost of importing petrol fell by 4.45 per cent from Sh35787 ($331.37) per cubic metre in September to Sh34196 ($316.64) in October, while the cost of importing a similar amount of diesel fell by 7.42 per cent to Sh31193 ($288.83) in October from Sh33694 ($311.99) in September.

Meanwhile, the average cost of importing a cubic metre of kerosene in October also fell by 7.42 per cent from September, falling to Sh28206 ($261.17) from Sh30465 ($282.09).

The new prices will come as a timely boost to thousands of motorists who are reeling from a fall in revenues as a result of Covid-19 restriction measures which have capped the number of passengers in transit to contain the spread of the virus.