Fuel price increments unjustified – Group

The Institute for Energy Security, an energy policy think tank, has described the recent increment in price of petroleum products by some Oil Marketing Companies as “unjustified” and lacking merit.

The institute in its projections of how much petroleum products must cost at the pumps said there is no justification in the price increases as confirmed by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) in its recent statement.

But the think tank responding to the increase said, on the back of an increase in the national fuel stock, and the stability of the local currency against the dollar, there is no justification in increasing diesel and petrol prices at the pump in the second Pricing-window for the month of October 2016.

“Both local and international indices, and competition among the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) points only to a stability in local market prices and in the opinion of the Institute for Energy Security (IES), no increment is justified,” a statement issued Wednesday said.

Earlier in the week, consumer group, Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) Ghana said that prices of fuel effective October 16, 2016 have been reviewed upwards between 8-11 percent.

But that statement was rebutted by the NPA on Tuesday urging that, “consumers and the media to check on the price boards of retail stations to determine the true prices of fuel on the market and not rely on data from any group of persons who purport to project fuel prices, which always turn out to be poor and inaccurate.”

“When in doubt, consumers and the media should check with NPA’s website or the bi-weekly publications of retail prices of OMCs published in the Daily Graphic, the Ghanaian Times, and the Gazette by the Assembly Press for accurate information on the retails of fuel by OMCs,” added the NPA’s statement.

However, the Institute for Energy Security advised that it is important that traders and marketers are guided by market fundamentals and business ethics in a deregulated market and not to dwell on speculation to make unjustified profits from the Ghanaian consumer.

Nevertheless, the Executive Secretary of COPEC, Duncan Amoah insisted that the chamber’s calculations were accurate.

He announced that some fuel stations increased the prices from the previous diesel levels of GHS3.60 per litre to GHS3.72 per litre, whilst petrol has shot up from previous levels of GHS 3.610 to current levels of GHS 3.750 for a good number of the OMCs.