by Bahle Gama
Over this period the Authority has inspected about 132 LPG sites and rated their compliance with safety, environmental, and industry standards.
The average LPG compliance performance level stood at 58 per cent at the end of the reporting period which is an improvement of 5 per cent when compared to the average compliance at the end of the previous financial year.
According to the report, as a compliance enforcement strategy in this period, the Authority paid particular focus to ensure that all LPG operations were licensed as most LPG retail operations were operating illegally.
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Working jointly with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Trade, the Authority conducted compliance enforcement inspections which resulted in the suspension of about 44 LPG retail operations in line with the Trading Licences Order, of 1975.
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Most of the LPG retail operations were selling LPG products in grossly unsafe conditions inside grocery shops.
To optimize the LPG industry structure, as a new sector to regulation, the Authority has also conducted a market and regulatory assessment study whose aim is to ensure that the local LPG industry is structured in a way that promotes universal safe access to an affordable LPG product for all citizens.
A final report, together with an implementation plan, shall be shared with the LPG industry once consultancy work has been finalized.
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The Liquified Petroleum Gas value chain is broken into two: LPG – wholesale and retail. Wholesalers are responsible for the bulk importation and local distribution of LPG products to retailers, who in turn are responsible for selling the LPG product to consumers.
The main issue of interest in the LPG industry has been safety as this product is mostly used as a heating fuel in industrial, commercial, and domestic applications.
As a cleaner fuel, LPG is being promoted as a preferred alternative in domestic cooking, and as such its accessibility is of paramount importance.