(Ecofin Agency) - The Consumer Federation of Kenya (COFEK) on Friday opposed the Sh1.42 price reduction announced by the Energy and Regulatory Commission (ERC) on Thursday for petrol, kerosene and diesel.

"This is such a shock. We were expecting a reduction of not less than Sh10 because the main determinant of the price is not the tax but the cost of actual crude”, Stephen Mutoro (photo), COFEK’s Secretary General said.

In the current price review, ERC reduced the price of a litre of diesel by Sh1.81 and kerosene by Sh7.14 thereby saying that it considered a Sh2.061 rise in excise duty for diesel.

As a result of the review, a litre of Super Petrol, diesel and kerosene are to now be sold at Sh88.64 Sh76.70 and Sh46.13 respectively in Nairobi.

ERC however, cites the 4.32 % fall in the average landed cost of Super Petrol which was $518.63 per tonne from $542.02 in November as the reason behind the reduction.

“All factors remained nearly the same freight costs, the shilling even stabilized and was better than it was in the last review so the latest review is unacceptable, a provocation and an insult to the consumer”, Mutoro added.

According to the STAR News, the public poured out their mind on social media before and after the announcement of the price list. They blamed ERC of conspiring with oil marketers to increase the price.

Anita Fatunji