Households to expend more on energy as gas, kerosene prices rise

The average price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of cooking gas has increased by 5.48% month-on-month and 45.59% year-on-year to N2,708.38 in February 2017 from N2,567.56 in January 2017, a report by the  National Bureau of Statistics shows.

While the price of kerosene may have seen a decline over the last month, the price of cooking gas is however still on the rise.

The average price for refilling of a 5kg cylinder for cooking gas were N3,030 in Edo; N3,000 in Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Zamfara, Rivers; N2,984.62 in Kebbi and Delta metropolis.

Similarly, average price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas decreased by 2.95% month-on-month and 45.49% year-on-year to N5,345.87 in February 2017 from N5,508.16 in January 2017.

Nevertheless, refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo, Kebbi, Rivers Yobe metropolis costs as high as N6,000; N5,923 in Delta and N5,833 in Borno.

In Lagos, Ogun and Oyo, the price of refilling a 12.5kg gas cylinder costs N4,797, N4,777 and N4,322 respectively.

On the other hand, the average price per litre paid by consumers for kerosene decreased by 18.77% month-on-month and increased by 31.34% year-on-year to N352.42 in February 2017 from N433.84 in January 2017.

In Lagos and Ogun, a litre of kerosene now sells at N455 and N425.44 respectively, while in Sokoto and Katsina, prices are as low as N295.24 and N286.11 respectively.

A litre of kerosene which sold for N295 in Ilorin in January was selling at N329 in February.

However, last month, scarcity of the product affected prices in certain areas in the South East like Enugu where prices were between N400 – N450 per litre of kerosene. Currently, a litre of kerosene in Enugu metropolis costs N355.

With the current economic crisis, households are resorting to alternative fuel sources like coal and firewood.

While environmentalists frown at the impact of the use of such fuels on the environment and the resulting health effects, some respondents who spoke with BusinessDay argue there are no alternatives

“With N300 coal, I only need little kerosene and it can serve me fine. I know some people that use firewood or even sawdust now to cook just to manage the small cash at their disposal,” Nnenna Njoku, an Abuja resident said.

Nigeria’s four refineries have been operating at less than 10 percent of their installed capacity with majority of petroleum products still being imported. The statistics bureau reports that $833 million is spent monthly on the imports of refined petroleum products including kerosene, petrol and diesel

Calls have been made from experts to the federal government to hand over the refineries to private sector participants to optimise their functionality and this has not received much attention.

The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas has alluded the hike in prices to production hitches ranging from the cost of steel to the exchange rates. In January, NAV Gas was selling 20 metric tonnes of cooking gas at N5.5 million against the N3.5 million in November 2016.

With irregularities in supply of these products, price fluctuations will continue to the discomfort of Nigerians across the country who rely on the availability and affordability of these products for their daily meals.