Stringent times are coming for all Kenyan households after the government issued a new directive to gas suppliers.
In a report by Daily Nation, the state banned all oil marketers from allowing refill of gas cylinders belonging to rival brands.
In defence of its latest move, the government explained that it issued the directive in order to keep gas cheats and uncouth business dealers at bay.
For customers, the move means that you will not be able to exchange the brands you already own with any other different one like has been the practice.
It is, however, not clear when the directive is set to take effect or what the punishment will be for the perpetrators who contravene the order.
Speaking about the matter, Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) Director General Pavel Oimeke stated that the gas-swap trade had seen various brands lose track of up to 90 per cent of their gas cylinders.
“The mandatory interchange of LPG cylinders has seen brands lose track of 90 per cent of the cylinders they had invested in, stalling investment in further cylinders, and seeing legal checks set aside as nameless refillers resold cylinders, but could not be made accountable for safety breaches,” he explained.
Reports further indicated that the EPRA also demanded the gas brands to have safety instructions accompanying their products.
The new instructions include guides on what consumers should do if they smell a gas leak.
The directive is a sharp contrast from the current industry norms in which users can walk into any Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) dealer and buy cylinders with no questions asked.
