The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has moved to shield consumers from higher fuel prices in the near future by capping new pipeline transport tariffs for the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) below the rates the company had requested.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

In a gazette notice on Friday, May 15, EPRA approved a multi-year tariff structure that keeps pipeline charges flat for the current year, while gradually increasing over the next two financial years.

In the notice, EPRA retained the previous tariff at Ksh 5.44 per cubic metre per kilometre for 2025/26, before allowing marginal adjustments in the following years at Ksh 5.53 per cubic metre per kilometre for the 2026/27 financial year, and Ksh 5.83 per cubic metre per kilometre in the 2027/28 financial year.

"Pursuant to section 11(c) of the Energy Act, 2019, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) hereby gives notice of the approved multi-year pipeline transport tariff for the Kenya Pipeline Company Limited (KPC) for the period 2025/2026 to 2027/2028," EPRA stated in the notice.

📌 What You Need to Know

"The approved multi-year pipeline transport tariff shall be applicable for a three (3) year control period commencing on April 15 2026, to April 14, 2029," it added.

The new tariffs are lower than the tariffs proposed by KPC, effectively cushioning consumers from what would have been a silent increase in pump prices across the country, adding pain to already record-high prices since 2022.

In its application to EPRA, KPC sought to raise pipeline transport charges to KSh 5.56 per cubic metre per kilometre for the current year, with a steady increase to Ksh 6.61 by the 2027/28 financial year. KPC had claimed that the extra charges would be used to finance major infrastructure upgrades.

It is worth noting that tariffs are among the factors the regulator considers when determining fuel prices, and any increase in tariffs would have led to even higher fuel price hikes than the one announced on Thursday, May 14.

Had the higher tariff been approved, the increased transport cost through the pipeline would have been factored directly into depot pricing, ultimately pushing up retail fuel prices by several cents per litre, particularly for consumers in Nairobi and towns further inland such as Nakuru, Eldoret and Kisumu.

In the same notice, EPRA also trimmed regional depot charges from what KPC had requested across the country, further cushioning fuel marketers from additional cost pressures.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke