The cost of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has posted a 24.5 percent increase in October compared to a similar period last year, new data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has shown.
This follows the reintroduction of the 16 percent VAT tax from July 1, 2021, which had been scrapped in July 2016 to encourage Kenyans to use cleaner sources of energy.
Currently, refilling a 13kg cylinder of cooking gas now costs Ksh2,513.74 on average as compared to Ksh2,019.14 in October last year.
Refilling a 6-kg cooking gas is averaging Ksh1,300.
Since the taxes were scrapped in 2016, consumption of LPG for cooking has increased from 151,000 tonnes to 326,000 tonnes last year.
Read: Inflation Rate Hits Record High In 18 Months
LPG is the second most used fuel for cooking at 23.9 percent of Kenyan households after kerosene at 55.1 percent.
The hike in prices is likely to slow down the gains made in the clean energy campaign, with more households likely to revert to kerosene or charcoal.
Kenya has been targeting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent as per the Paris Agreement, with the use of LPG expected to contribute to 14 percent.
In October, inflation dropped to 6.45 percent from September’s 6.91 percent which was a 19-month high.
The food and non-alcoholic drinks index, however, increased by 1.11 percent.
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