Fuel prices to remain stable when PSRL takes effect – NPA

• Prices of petroleum products have been increasing throughout the year

• Price of diesel and petrol are selling at GH¢6.80 per litre at some pumps

• The implementation of the PSRL was expected to take effect on November 1

The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has assured of fuel price stability on consumers once the Price Stabilisation and Recovery Levies (PRSL) on petrol, diesel, and LPG takes effect.

The levy which is yet to be approved by Parliament missed its implementation date for November 1, 2021 as the House is required to pass the legislation.

Chief Executive of the Authority, Mustapha Hamid speaking with journalists on Tuesday in Koforidua in the Eastern region assured that once the PRSL is approved, consumers will not witness astronomical jumps in the prices of fuel.

“Once the people have seen at the pump that this week, the prices haven’t gone up, it gives them a measure of confidence that going forward, there will be a measure of stability. We were hopeful that from the first November window we would not see astronomical jumps at the pump. I haven’t seen that which will suggest to me that the price stabilisation and recovery levy removal is working,” Mustapha Hamid said.

He continued, “They [fuel prices] have been stable, which is exactly what we intended it to be; that in this window the prices do not go up even though the international prices have still gone up,” Dr. Hamid added.

Since the beginning of this year, prices of petroleum products have increased almost 13 times. This has sparked fears that consumers may end the year, paying an all-time high rate per litre.

To mitigate the impact of petroleum price build-up on consumers, government through the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) on October 11, 2021, granted approval for the removal of Price Stabilisation and Recovery Levy on petrol, diesel, and LPG for two months.

Meanwhile, some experts in the petroleum sector have called on the government to rather remove a number of additional petroleum taxes in order to ensure price stability and cushion consumers.

At the present, Price Stabilisation and Recovery Levy is 16 pesewas per liter on petrol, fourteen pesewas per litre (GHp14/Lt) on diesel, and fourteen pesewas per kilogram (GHp14/Kg) on LPG.