Cooking gas cylinders for sale. The cost of refilling a 13-kilogramme
cylinder rose to an average of Sh2,172 last month. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Cooking gas prices have shot to a 22-month high, returning to
levels seen before the government removed value added tax (VAT) on the
clean fuel.
Official data shows that the cost of
refilling a 13-kilogramme gas cylinder rose to an average of Sh2,172
last month, up from 2, 169 in March and Sh2,083 in April last year.
April’s
cost is the highest since June 2016, when the Treasury scrapped VAT on
gas to cut costs and boost uptake among poor households who rely on
kerosene and charcoal for cooking.
Prices stood at an
average of Sh2, 231 in June 2016, and dropped to below Sh2,000 in
October, four months after the scrapping of the 16 per cent VAT.
The
price has, however, been on a steady climb since last September when it
stood at Sh2, 094 in line with rising petroleum cost, according to the
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
The
rise happened in an environment of lower inflation which dropped to a
63-month low of 3.73 per cent on slower rise in food prices.
The
Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has delayed plans to control gas
prices as it awaits an upgrade of the LPG storage and handling
facilities for issuance of single gas tender commonly referred to as the
open tender system (OTS).
Kenya has since 2010 been controlling diesel, petrol and kerosene costs.
The
ERC has plans to start publishing cooking gas prices to enable
consumers push cash-hungry dealers to lower the cost of the commodity.
Gas
has become the preferred energy source for households that can afford
it in major towns due to its convenience and cleanliness when compared
to cooking fuel.
Industry data shows that gas
consumption jumped 25 per cent last year to 189,30 tonnes from 151,700
tonnes last year and 93,000 tonnes in 2013.
Kenya imports all its cooking gas, also known as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is processed from crude oil.
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