Motorists in every major town will pay more for fuel from midnight on October 15, after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) raised maximum pump prices on Wednesday, October 14, with Mombasa remaining the cheapest place to fill up and Nairobi, Kisumu and Eldoret among the most expensive, because the cost of moving fuel inland adds to the price at the pump. The new prices run until November 14.
In Mombasa, super petrol costs up to Sh223.81 a litre, diesel Sh224.61 and kerosene Sh216.71.
In Nakuru, the ceilings are Sh225.85 for petrol, Sh227.17 for diesel and Sh219.30 for kerosene.
Kisumu and Eldoret share the same prices, at Sh226.62 for petrol, Sh227.98 for diesel and Sh220.12 for kerosene.
In Nairobi, petrol is Sh226.96, diesel Sh227.76 and kerosene Sh219.87.
Mombasa, the country's import terminal, has the lowest prices, Sh3.15 a litre below Nairobi for both petrol and diesel. A 50-litre tank of petrol costs about Sh11,190 in Mombasa, compared with Sh11,348 in Nairobi and Sh11,331 in Kisumu.
Nairobi has the highest petrol price of the five towns, at Sh226.96. Kisumu and Eldoret share the highest diesel and kerosene prices, at Sh227.98 and Sh220.12. Nakuru is slightly cheaper than Nairobi for all three fuels.
The gap between the cheapest and dearest town is about Sh3.15 for petrol, Sh3.37 for diesel and Sh3.41 for kerosene.
The differences reflect the extra pipeline and road transport costs of getting fuel from Mombasa to each town. EPRA publishes ceilings for many more towns than these five, so motorists elsewhere should check the full schedule.
These are maximum prices, not fixed prices. Stations can charge less. Drivers should also not confuse these figures with EPRA's wholesale ceilings, which are lower. In Mombasa, for example, the wholesale ceiling for super petrol is Sh208.73.
For households, the regional gap is small compared with the increase itself. Whether you live on the coast or in the highlands, a litre of petrol now costs Sh12 to Sh13 more than a month ago.
Kerosene users saw the sharpest rise, about Sh28 a litre in every town listed.
