Consumers have every reason to smile after the issuance of a new friendly directive, which now allows them to replace their empty gas cylinders with any other refilled brand.
This was made possible after members of the Energy Dealers Association (EDA) were allowed to exchange different gas cylinder brands as long as the size is the same since all the containers are fitted with universal valves.
According to a Gazette Notice, consumers can now exchange the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders provided one is a member of the Energy Dealers Association (EDA).
This comes after suppliers and distributors of LPG were allowed to jointly exchange their cylinders for a period of five years.
In the new directive, suppliers and distributors were allowed to have their members increase their cylinder count by at least 10,000 per year per depot.
Members of the association were also allowed to refill and resell cylinders among themselves, a move that was banned in 2019 to tame rogue operatives in the industry.
Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority announced that it had abolished the mandatory cylinder exchange pool, putting firms in charge of their cylinders following cases of unsafe refilling.
The Authority set the tough tines for gas cylinder dealers, and those found going against the terms risked a five-year jail term or Ksh10 million fine.
Oil marketers were under instructions to reject gas cylinders that do not bear their brand in the new shift.
ERC conveyed that the decision to abolish the gas cylinder exchange pool was also backed by various stakeholders during the public participation phase of drawing up the new regulation.
But in August 2021 Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) fined an association of suppliers Ksh408,000 on allegations of exploiting Kenyans.
In a gazette notice dated Friday, August 2021, CAK found EDA culpable of hatching the plot to exploit Kenyans following investigations.
The 32 players were accused of colluding to fix the minimum prices of 6kg and 13kg liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders. The suppliers applied to enter into a settlement agreement where they were fined Ksh408,000.
