The Energy and Petroleum Authority has stated that the government is undertaking a process in collaboration with the county governments for the zoning of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) facilities in counties.
In a press release, the Authority cited that they would be creating special locations for LPG refill centres away from residential areas.
EPRA will be undertaking the zoning process in collaboration with the county governments.
Counties have therefore been requested to actively identify land for tanker parking yards, a requirement to stop drivers from parking in residential areas, the roadside and petrol stations during transit.
“We ask county governments to collaborate with us in coming up with clear guidelines on exclusive zoning and reservation of land for setting up new petroleum and gas facilities away from densely populated areas” stated the EPRA director.
Further EPRA stated that they would be conducting regular inspection exercises for existing facilities in collaboration with county government officers.
The county teams will take up inspection roles on adherence to set standards, public safety requirements on facility establishment, weights and measures as well as scrutinising staff qualifications on safety and operations of the facilities.
EPRA added that traditionally, petroleum and cooking gas refill facilities were located in designated safe areas, however, the pressure for land for the establishment of settlement areas resulted in the review of land-use approvals for the construction of residential facilities within industrial zones.
The new tightening of measures by the Authority was announced following a workshop between EPRA, and county energy executives.
It also falls at a time when Kenya was reeling from the shock of a fire incident which broke out in an Embakasi gas plant resulting in several people losing their life
After the incident, EPRA explained that it had rejected three applications for construction of permits as the owners did not meet the criteria for managing a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) plan.
