The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Body (EPRA) on Wednesday, June 30, released the names of petrol stations that had been caught selling adulterated fuel in a bid to curb the menace.
In a public notice, the regulator stated that it had found eleven stations that were either selling diluted fuel or fuel bound for export for a period of three months from April to June 2021.
"During the period April - June 2021, a total of 5,598 tests were conducted at 1,237 petroleum sites.
"From the tests, 99.11 per cent of the sites were found to be compliant. However, tests from eleven (11) sites turned out to be non-compliant," EPRA revealed.
EPRA revealed that they identified the stations after continuous monitoring of the quality of petroleum motor fuels on sale, transport and storage throughout the country during the stipulated period.
The Authority highlighted that the petrol stations found to be non-compliant were situated in Nairobi, Marsabit, Meru, Trans Nzoia, Homabay, West Pokot, Migori, Nakuru, Kilifi, Meru and Lamu counties.
According to EPRA, the majority of the petrol stations were found to be offering for sale Diesel or Petrol containing high sulphur content - which has a negative impact on the effectiveness of emission control systems.
EPRA closed the pumps and fined some petrol stations up to Ksh760,000 in taxes and penalties to have the pumps reopened.
The regulator requested members of the public to report suspected cases of petroleum fuels adulteration or export dumping through the hotline number (0709336000) as well as use the Authority's USSD Code (*363#) and SMS service code (40850).
Here is the list of the petrol stations list by EPRA:
1. Be Energy Racecourse Service Station - Nairobi
2. Zeemax Energy Service Station - Marsabit
3.Mishemishe Filling Station - Meru
4.Shukran Filling Station - Trans Nzoia
5. Nyakawili Filling Station - Homabay
6. OLA Energy Kapenguria Service Station - West Pokot
7. Gen Eighteen Fourty Filling - Migori
8. Philip Waweru Mwangi Filling Station - Nakuru
9. Test Report- Tezo Filling Station - Kilifi
10. Sifa Petroleum Filling Station - Meru
11. Catasteph Filling Station - Lamu
Diluted fuel reduces the viscosity of a motor oil hence resulting in wear and tear of key components such as piston, rings and liner. It also negatively affects the oil’s ability to function as a hydraulic fluid, which is critical in engines with variable valve timing.
