This archive report was first published on 29 October 2019.
Cooking Gas Suppliers Gang up Against Retailers ¶
Published on October 29, 2019
The Petroleum Institute of East Africa (PIEA) has announced its support for new measures by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) against illegal cylinder refilling and distribution.
PIEA has vowed to boycott retailers who continue reselling their cylinders filled with cooking gas from different companies, effectively running them out of business.
According to Olagoke Aluko, Chairman of the PIEA, the new regulations gazetted in June 2019 have made it clear that illegal cylinder refilling is a thing of the past.
"There is no 'six-month transition period' on illegal cylinder refilling," Aluko said. "It is illegal. It is ending. And anyone who wants to carry on in the face of a Sh10m fine and five years in prison will find that the legitimate LPG producers will not issue them a supply arrangement and will permanently boycott them," he added.
The LPG suppliers are blacklisting illegal retailers as confusion has grown about the six-month transition period under the new LPG industry regulations.
Under the new regulations, retailers must now have an agreement with the brands they stock that is proven by a letter and must be applying to EPRA for a licence.
However, "we will not issue brand agreements to retailers who are still sending our branded cylinders to illegal refillers," Aluko said.
EPRA is also providing inspection briefs to other regulatory bodies including the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), Anti-Counterfeit Agency (ACA), Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), Directorate of Occupational Health and Safety, National Environment Management Authority and County Executive Committees in energy, environment, and health across the country.
According to data from the World Bank, three-quarters of the LPG bought in Kenya was being provided by illegal refillers prior to the new regulations.
"The cost to citizens of unregulated refilling was intolerable. The safety breaches set Kenya back in its rate of LPG adoption," Aluko added.
He said the prevalence of the illegal refilling deterred investment in the industry on confused liability cases.
This, he said, has seen Kenyans suffering more severely than other African countries from respiratory diseases and mortality caused by the prolonged reliance on indoor cooking with firewood and charcoal.
Only Total Kenya currently has a mechanism for authenticating an LPG cylinder bought from them.
The company is providing customers with a toll-free number to call or text, instilling a sense of security and trust in its cooking gas business.
