The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), the state regulator that sets a ceiling on pump prices each month, has raised the maximum price of all three fuels.
In Nairobi, super petrol goes up KES 12.93 to KES 226.96 a litre from midnight, diesel KES 9.90 to KES 227.76 and kerosene KES 28.49 to KES 219.87. The caps apply from 15th October to 14th November 2026, and stations can charge less but not more.
| KES per litre | Nairobi until 14th October | Nairobi from 15th October | Change | Mombasa from 15th October |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super petrol | 214.03 | 226.96 | +12.93 | 223.81 |
| Diesel | 217.86 | 227.76 | +9.90 | 224.61 |
| Kerosene | 191.38 | 219.87 | +28.49 | 216.71 |
A 50-litre tank of super petrol in Nairobi now costs KES 11,348, where it cost KES 10,702 last month. A car that does 10 km/l spends KES 2,270 on petrol over 100 km, up from KES 2,140. Super petrol is now above the KES 214.25 EPRA set in May, the previous high for 2026. Diesel is still below the KES 242.92 it reached that month, which we covered at the time.
EPRA puts the rise down to the cost of imports. Kenya imports all of its fuel in refined form, and EPRA prices it from landed cost, what a cargo costs once it reaches the port of Mombasa, averaged across the cargoes in the review period. The average landed cost of super petrol rose 11.81% to US$977.55 per cubic metre (1,000 litres), or about KES 127,000 at the release’s September rate of KES 129.91 to the dollar. Diesel rose 11.32% and kerosene 9.41%. The shilling hardly moved, from KES 129.72 in August to KES 129.91, so the rise is in the dollar price of fuel.
The international price of petrol reached US$1,300.65 a tonne (about KES 169,000) in September, a 12-month high and 16.6% above August. International diesel rose 10.1% and kerosene 10.8%, and both remain below their April peaks. Edward Kinyua, EPRA’s Director General, said September was the worst month for import costs since the war in the Middle East began.
Pump prices did not follow import costs evenly. By our arithmetic, September’s landed costs plus 8% VAT would have added about KES 14.70 to a litre of petrol, KES 15.40 to diesel and KES 13.50 to kerosene. Petrol rose KES 1.74 less than that and diesel KES 5.50 less, and the release’s text does not say why. Kerosene rose about KES 15 more, and EPRA has given a reason: a wide gap between kerosene and diesel could encourage adulteration, the blending of cheaper kerosene into diesel. That gap in Nairobi was KES 90.14 before the emergency addendum in May, KES 41.48 after it, KES 26.48 last month and is KES 7.89 now. We covered that addendum, which followed a petition from public transport operators over adulteration.
The prices include VAT at 8%, the temporary rate the Treasury brought in during April in place of 16%. It was due to lapse on 14th October and is now said to run to 14th January 2027, though the release’s text gives no end date. By our arithmetic, VAT makes up KES 16.81 of a litre of Nairobi super petrol, and the same pre-tax price at 16% would sell for about KES 243.77.
The next review is due by 14th November. The international petrol price rose faster in September than the landed cost EPRA priced, 16.6% against 11.81%, and the landed-cost average trails the month’s benchmark. On those numbers, petrol is more likely to rise than fall in the November review unless the benchmark drops before then. If the VAT rate went back to 16%, the cap would be about KES 17 a litre higher.
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