• Some city residents still prefer using either a combination of both gas and charcoal or just gas.
•A two kilo tin of charcoal which was retailing at an average Sh60 in July last year had gone up to Sh90 in January this year.
Image: FILE
Just two days after her three children came home for school break, Mary, a Nairobi resident says she has to buy a charcoal jiko for her cooking needs.
She has been using a 13 kilogramme gas cylinder to cook for years, but with the price increase, has shifted to charcoal hoping it will provide an affordable alternative.
This is the plight facing millions off Kenyans currently struggling to make ends meet, amid a rising cost of living.
On Sunday, Rubis Energy Kenya reviewed its retail prices, increasing the refilling price of 13 kilogramme cylinder by close to Sh250.
The dealer's price for the 13-kiogramme cylinder was at Sh3,113 In January. However, the consumers have been refilling the cylinder at Sh3,340 since Monday.
The six kilogramme cylinder is being refilled at Sh1,560 from Sh1,441. Families were refilling the same at Sh1,243 before the introduction of VAT.
Those using the 35 kilogramme cylinder now have to pay Sh8,760 to refill from Sh8,191, almost Sh600 more.
Prices have jumped 50 per cent over the last year or almost Sh1,000 since January last year -- more than triple the 16 percent value-added tax (VAT) introduced by the government on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
A spot check by the Star showed that other dealers have silently reviewed prices, with a 13-kg cylinder of gas now retailing at an average of Sh3,200.
Even so, some city residents still prefer using a combination of both gas and charcoal or just gas.
Hellen* says she prefers paying Sh1,500 for a month -worth of gas compared to spending more than Sh200 daily on charcoal.
Less than a year ago, she would spend Sh100 for charcoal daily for all her family meals something she can not do now due to high charcoal prices.
A two kilo container of charcoal which was retailing at an average Sh60 in July last year was retailing at Sh90 in January.
This translates to Sh1,400 a week and Sh4,200 a month which is sh1,000 more compared to the price of refiling a 13-kg cylinder of gas now retailing at an average of Sh3,200.
The month-to-month Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Index increased by 0.83 per cent between January 2022 and February 2022 to 8.69 per cent, according to latest Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data.
A bag of charcoal in Nairobi shot up to Sh2,800 in February compared to Sh2,300 over the same period in 2021.
The use of gas also comes with convenience, something a number of parents appreciate as learners begin a two-month long school break.