The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum has revealed new details on how Kenya's consumption of petroleum products suffered a decline after the implementation of the Finance Act, 2023.

In a new report released on January 9, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) revealed that the top three products that suffered a sharp decline in consumption were Kerosene, Super Petrol, and Diesel.

Following these developments, Kenyans feeling the pinch of the tough economic times started leaving their cars at home, leading to the consumption of Super Petrol and Diesel to suffer a 2.83 and 2.29 per cent decline respectively.

With new taxes being imposed, the two fuel products reported a double-digit consumption decline in July 2023 compared to the previous month.

Super petrol recorded a 10.29%  decline while diesel recorded a 13.04% decrease.

However, in August, the products recovered only to record another drop in September. The reduction rates were pegged at 1.34 per cent for Super Petrol, and 2.14 per cent for Diesel respectively.

Meanwhile, the consumption of Kerosene declined by almost half, with the agency reporting a 47.6 per cent decline, making it the worst-hit, petroleum product.

On a general scale, the three products declined by 3.58% in the first quarter of the Financial Year 2023/24.

This comes after President William Ruto signed into law the Finance Act on June 26, 2023.

The Act initially proposed a 16% tax on petroleum products, however, the piece of legislation was later ammended following complaints from Kenyans across the board. The rate now stands at 8%.

Meanwhile, the Energy and Petroleum Authority (EPRA) is on Sunday, January 14, expected to announce the new pump prices for the next period.

In the last review, the regulatory body cut prices for the  period between December 15, 2023 and January 14, 2024 ahead of the festive season.