Ruto to introduce 1kg gas cylinders in free distribution plan
Ruto to introduce 1kg gas cylinders in free distribution plan
According to Energy Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir, as part of President William Ruto’s free Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) program for low-income homes, the government will launch a range of gas cylinders.
Speaking to the media following a stakeholder engagement on Friday, the CS emphasized that the 1 kg containers are one of the cylinders that will be brought into the market. There will be more cylinders with capacities of 3 kg and 5 kilogram.
According to Chirchir, the decision was made in order to control the expense of replenishing gas cylinders, which was preventing many families from purchasing the 6- and 13-kg models.
Furthermore, the CS referenced earlier government initiatives that, because the suggested tactics were implemented haphazardly, were unable to accomplish comparable objectives.
“We want to ensure that there is a cylinder for everyone who lives below the line so that using LPG should not be an impediment on account of not having a cylinder.
“A lot of those cylinders (in past programmes) were 6 kg and it was not going to people living below the line. We will take the lessons we learnt on mwananchi gas and use them to support the new gas strategy for the people living below the line,” he announced.
The CS also revealed that the government was developing a plan to grant the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) the authority to determine gas pricing.
Currently,EPRA only controls fuel pricing nationwide and has been attempting to get into the gas industry.
“With the open tender laws that we intend to implement, we are focusing on price discovery. We visited Cabinet and received their agreement,” he continued.
This year is anticipated to see the start of the free gas cylinder distribution program, with the Ministry of Energy aiming to provide more than 60,000 units by December.
Interestingly, the plan unveiled by the Head of State in 2023 targets 4.5 million dwellings. On the other side, the government plans to install LPG infrastructure in buildings as part of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Growth Policy.
Gas services will be made available in homes and estates thanks to this project.
