The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) has criticized the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) for its decision to raise the price floor for some petroleum products in the first pricing window of May.
The NPA has set the new price floor for petrol at GHȼ13.63 per litre, up from GHȼ13.02. Diesel prices remain unchanged at GHȼ13.07 per litre.
The price floor for LPG has also been increased slightly, from GHȼ10.52 per kilogram in April to GHȼ10.55.
This decision has drawn criticism from stakeholders in the petroleum industry, including Duncan Amoah, the Executive Secretary of COPEC. He expressed concern about the impact on consumers.
Amoah worries that the initiative, which anticipates a range of fuel prices in May, could inadvertently allow the NPA to set prices for Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) even though the market is deregulated.
“…We think it needs to be looked at again before the authority ends up inadvertently setting prices for OMCs, to now charge even in a deregulated environment. We would need to ask the NPA because, clearly, if you have a mixed window where petrol goes up, diesel comes down, and then you decide to increase for petrol, I mean, rightfully, but diesel you maintain.”
“We think that, that whole discussion, will have to be situated properly so that the consumer does not end up rather being fleeced with the explicit supervision and tacit approval of the regulator in a deregulated environment,” he stated.
Explore the world of impactful news with CitiNewsroom on WhatsApp!
Click on the link to join the Citi Newsroom channel for curated, meaningful stories tailored just for YOU: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaCYzPRAYlUPudDDe53x
No spams, just the stories that truly matter! #StayInformed #CitiNewsroom #CNRDigital