This archive report was first published on 8 August 2019.
On August 8, 2019, activist Okiya Omtatah took the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) to court over new cooking gas rules that he believes are detrimental to consumers.
The revised Energy (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) Regulations of 2009 abolished the mandatory cylinder exchange pool, which marketers claim led to the proliferation of unsafe refilling outlets.
According to the new rules, consumers can choose to retain their current cylinder or return it to the brand owner in exchange for deposit cash to buy an alternative one.
Omtatah, however, argues that there are less restrictive means to achieve the purpose of reining in illegal and unsafe refilling of LPG cylinders, such as allowing consumers to refill their cylinders with any qualified and licensed refiller, regardless of the brand.
The activist claims that the new rules favor multinationals at the expense of local independent refillers, and that the people of Kenya will suffer great loss if the matter is not heard and determined.
