New rules bar Kenyans from exchanging gas cylinder brands

Gas cylinder brand owners should only accept tanks that they own for refills or maintenance.

According to the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), the move will help curb cases of illegal refilling and unauthorised rebranding.

“The unified valve for domestic LPG cylinders will remain but replace the mandatory interchange of cylinders with a mutual exchange system. This will enhance cost efficiency in the cylinder exchange system and thus improve LPG distribution,” Director General Pavel Oimeke said.

He was speaking when he unveiled the proposed Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) regulations on Tuesday.

Brand owners have also been tasked with ensuring that LPG cylinders are insured such that in case of an incident attributable to the cylinder, the consumer can be compensated.

The authority boss also expressed optimism that the proposed regulations once adopted will boost investment in the sector.

It has also proposed LPG reticulation where real estate investors will get approvals from EPRA to construct bulk LPG storage.

Housing units will then get gas via a network of pipes.

Consequently, the regulations are expected to enhance uptake by removing key barriers that are said to be hindering adoption of LPG as a clean source of energy.