Pain as households, businesses hit by high cooking gas prices

KENYAN households and businesses are now grappling with high cooking gas prices after retailers increased prices by up to 40 per cent in some regions.

Refilling A 6-kg cylinder, commonly used in households, now averages between Sh1,200 and Sh1,400 depending on the brand and region, up from an average Sh1,000, a spot check by the Star showed.

A 13-kg cylinder refill generally costs between Sh2,400 and Sh3,500 with popular brands like Shell Afrigas and TotalEnergies often falliong toward the higher end (Sh3,100–Sh3,500), while brands like ProGas can be found for lower prices.

On average, the 13-kg refill has been at between Sh2,000 and Sh2,200 in most city estates and major towns across the country.

A 50kg cooking gas, used mainly in business such as welding, hotels and eateries is now going for between Sh10,000 and Sh12,000, up from between Sh7,500 and Sh8,000.

“We are getting the products at a higher prices so we have had to adjust our markups to remain profitable,” Edwin Kimani, a cooking gas retailer in Tena Estate, Nairobi, told the Star.

The price increase adds pain to consumers who have also been hit by higher fuel prices in the latest review, even as government moved to cut VAT on petrouelm products from 16 per cent to eight per cent.

Global LPG prices surged in March 2026 due to the US-Israel conflict with Iran, which prompted an effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting 30 per cent of global seaborne exports.

Propane prices peaked around $973.75 (Sh125, 759) per tonne, and while they dropped to roughly $650 (Sh83 947) per tonne by mid-April, prices remain significantly higher than pre-war levels, driving up energy costs globally.

While the high landing costs and global market price fluctuations has influenced the price increase, recent increases in LPG taxes by the government have been blamed for further pushing up the cost of the commodity, impacting Kenya's push towards clean energy.

In 2023, Treasury exempted cooking gas from Value Added Tax (VAT), the 3.5 per cent Import Declaration Fee (IDF) and Railway Development Levy (RDL) to promote its use and reduce reliance on charcoal. 

LPG has been the fastest-growing fuel segment according to latest data by the Petroleum Institute of East Africa (PIEA), where consumption rose by 14.7 per cent to 475,943 metric tonnes in 2025, building on an equally strong 15.1 per cent growth recorded in 2024, when demand reached 414,861 tonnes.

Key drivers included government zero-rating of LPG and the National LPG Growth Strategy as well as household shift from kerosene or biomass.

Kerosene consumption has declined sharply in recent years for instance a 41 per cent drop in 2024 period.

“However in 2025, there was a marginal uptick (rare increase) of 18.9 per cent in 2025 driven by thermal power generation (Muhoroni plant). Not indicative of household demand recovery. Long-term decline of kerosene continues due to LPG uptake and electrification,” PIEA said in its Q1 2026 report.

Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) director for petroleum and gas, Edward Kinyua, during the PIEA report launch, said the regulator continues to streamline the sector including curbing illegal refilling and increasing cylinder capacity by dealers while improving tractability.

“Whoever comes to the industry must show the level of seriousness that is desired so that, one, we can assure public safety, and two, we can assure business for the people who are within the system,’ Kinyua said, “The market is big. Today, we are talking about 7.6 kilos per capita.”

The government’s LPG agenda, which also targets learning institutions and government installations,  seeks to enhance penetration from the current 24 per cent to 70 per cent by 2028.

 “We are looking at doubling consumption so that we have at least 15 kilos per capita. Government is planning to introduce an additional 10 million cylinders in the market. Discussions on how those cylinders will be introduced are ongoing and how the distribution model will be,” said Kinyua.

NEW TAXES 

However, the government’s move to introduce a new Petroleum Development Levy of Sh5,400 per 1,000 kilogrammes (Sh5.40 per kg) on LPG, has been blamed for high prices, which could hurt the country’s ambitious target of growing penetration to 70 per cent.

The Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek) cites a lack of public participation, arguing the tax increases the cost of living and violates clean cooking policies, while potentially reversing progress made under government-backed incentives.

Cofek has since strongly opposed the Petroleum Development Levy (Amendment) Order, 2025, which introduced the new tax regime on petroleum products, including LPG.

Secretary General Stephen Mutoro criticised both the substance and the process behind the levy, arguing that it was introduced through a gazette notice without adequate public participation or parliamentary oversight.

“The inclusion of LPG at this punitive rate is a direct contradiction of the government’s own clean cooking policy,” Mutoro said, warning that higher prices could push low-income households back to charcoal and firewood.

The lobby group argues that the levy exacerbates the cost-of-living crisis by raising energy costs across the board.

Cofek notes that fuel is key input in transportation, agriculture and manufacturing—meaning higher taxes ripple through the entire economy, ultimately pushing up the price of goods and services.

Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics consistently shows transport costs as a leading contributor to the Consumer Price Index, making fuel levies a sensitive policy lever.

By extending the Petroleum Development Levy to LPG, critics say the government risks undermining years of progress in promoting clean energy adoption.

The zero-rating policy had previously helped lower entry barriers, enabling more households to afford LPG cylinders and refills.

“There is a clear policy inconsistency,” Mutoro said, “On one hand, the government is incentivising LPG uptake and on the other, it is increasing the tax burden on the same product.”

PIEA has highlighted the adoption of LPG as a critical measure to reduce respiratory illnesses in Kenya, which are largely caused by indoor pollution from traditional cooking fuels like firewood, charcoal and kerosene

This, as pollution remains a health crisis with approximately 40 per cent of Kenya's health burden linked to respiratory illnesses (nearly 21,500 deaths annually) caused by indoor air pollution.

The broader concern is that Kenya’s fiscal framework has become increasingly reliant on fuel taxes as a source of revenue.

The government has continued to squeeze taxpayers to meet its budgetary obligations with nine different taxes being levied on fuel, the highest being the Road Maintenance Levy, which was increased to Sh25 per litre from Sh18.

Consumers also pay excise duty, VAT, Petroleum Development Levy, Petroleum Regulatory Levy, anti-adulteration levy and merchant shipping levy.

GOVERNMENT PLANS  

Meanwhile, the government has been keen to take LPG imports to the Open Tender System (OTS) to ty and lower retail prices and end monopoly-driven high costs.

The centrally coordinated bulk procurement system, designed to boost consumption from 7kg to 15kg per capita, aims to reduce the landed cost of LPG.

Cabinet approved the procurement through OTS in December 2024, but it is yet to be effected with EPRA putting in place supporting regulations and structures.

The system, similar to what was being used to import petroleum products before the switch to a government-to-government deal, is based on agreed terms and conditions, and the price is made up of import costs, market prices and local currency components, with bidders competing to offer lower price marks.

This is unlike the current space where the importer puts their own markups, with lack of competition exposing consumers to exorbitant prices.

The government is also working with the private sector to establish a common-user import facility at the Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited (KPRL) in Mombasa.

If the lower landed cost fails to translate to lower retail prices, retail price caps may be considered.