The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) is escalating its strong opposition to the National Petroleum Authority’s (NPA) fuel price floor, as the think tank is encouraging oil marketing companies (OMCs) and bulk oil importers and distributors (BIDECs) to take the regulator to court.
ACEP, in a statement, noted that companies that believe in fair competition and efficient service delivery should not quietly absorb what the think tank describes as an illegal regulation.
Instead, it wants them to actively challenge it through the courts.
Justifying the call, ACEP insists that the price floor undermines the very principles that should guide a deregulated downstream petroleum market. According to the policy think tank, competition, product quality, and consumer protection, not administrative price controls, should be the foundation of the sector.
In this vein, ACEP is urging that firms committed to cost-effective operations and innovation must take up the matter in the law court. By fixing a minimum price, ACEP says the NPA is effectively blocking genuine competition and interfering with legitimate business strategies aimed at offering better value to consumers.
ACEP maintains that it cannot fathom why companies that are efficient and willing to serve customers better should be punished for the sake of uncompetitive and inefficient ones. ACEP further warns that the policy amounts to regulatory sabotage rather than regulation.
The energy think tank has therefore committed to backing any OMC or BIDEC that decides to challenge the price floor in court. The organisation says such legal action is necessary not just to protect businesses, but to defend the public interest.
“ACEP remains committed to advocating for a well-regulated downstream sector that prioritises competition, product quality, and consumer protection,” the statement noted.
It added, “We urge OMCs and BIDECs, who are committed to improved and cost-effective service delivery, to fight such illegal regulations and proceed to court to avert regulatory sabotage of genuine business efforts. ACEP will support any such challenge and demand accountability from the NPA in the public interest.”
Beyond the courts, ACEP is also demanding greater accountability from the NPA. It insists that regulators must justify their actions within the law and explain how such policies genuinely protect consumers in a competitive market.
The new twist to the debate signals a deepening rift between the regulator and policy advocates over how Ghana’s fuel market should be managed.
ACEP is convinced that if regulation strays into illegality and harms competition, it must be tested in court, not accepted in silence.
