The State will import 30 percent of cooking gas through the National Oil Corporation of Kenya in a move aimed at controlling the price of the commodity. PHOTO | CYRIL NDEGEYA | NMG
What you need to know:
The 48 percent jump in the price of cooking gas in the space of one year is as alarming as it is damaging to the country’s efforts to shift more people to clean energy.
Marketers have been blaming the jump in prices on the reintroduction of the 16 percent VAT on the commodity last year.
But even accounting for the jump in crude prices in the period, the Sh1,000 price increase on a 13-kilogramme cylinder looks excessive.
The 48 percent jump in the price of cooking gas in the space of one year is as alarming as it is damaging to the country’s efforts to shift more people to clean energy.
Marketers have been blaming the jump in prices on the reintroduction of the 16 percent VAT on the commodity last year. But even accounting for the jump in crude prices in the period, the Sh1,000 price increase on a 13-kilogramme cylinder looks excessive.
This points to market inefficiencies that have for years dogged the LPG sector, whose prices remain unregulated by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra), unlike petrol, kerosene and diesel.
The sharp price increase therefore needs further investigation by the regulator, to determine if any players are taking advantage of market strengths or conditions to make abnormal profits.
More importantly, this is the clearest reminder yet that the country needs the fuel price control extended to cooking gas.
The newly completed Kipevu oil terminal in Mombasa should help in this regard, given the enhanced handling capacity for bulk gas imports it offers.
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
