LPG prices to rise ₱3.67 per kilo this August

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Consumers, particularly households, will have to tighten their belts further this August.

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices will increase by ₱3.67 per kilogram beginning this month, adding ₱40.38 to the cost of a standard 11-kilogram cylinder, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced. 

The DOE attributed the increase to a higher Saudi Aramco Contract Price (CP), the benchmark used to set LPG prices in the Philippines.

READ: Gov’t lifts excise tax suspension on LPG, kerosene

LPG prices are adjusted monthly based on movements in the CP.

Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said the price hike will be felt directly by Filipino households that rely on LPG for cooking.

“This is very personal to every family — ito po yung gas stove na inaasahan ng bawat bahay para may maihain na pagkain sa mesa,” Garin told reporters during a press conference on August 3.

Despite the increase, Garin stressed that the country’s LPG supply remains sufficient.

“Our LPG supply is strong and stable. The issue is not supply; it is price,” she said.

Building a strategic reserve

To cushion Filipino households from future price shocks, Garin said the DOE is pursuing a “more resilient, long-term energy strategy” that includes diversifying the country’s fuel sources away from Middle East-dependent supply and building infrastructure for a Philippine Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

The DOE, together with the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC), is studying the creation of the country’s own fuel storage tanks instead of relying solely on facilities owned by private oil companies, she added.

“We have learned our lesson from the recent escalation of conflict in the Middle East. We need our own stockpiling capacity, beyond the reserves held by private companies, so we can extend inventories and cushion shocks,” Garin explained.

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