Consequences of not abiding by the new regulations on LPG

The Liquefied Petroleum Gas, LPG 2009 Act, increased access of gas to the consumer but also created unintended illicit trade. This led to situations where gas cylinders from various brands landed in the hands of counterfeiter.

The 2009 Act created avenues through which unauthorized traders got their hands on counterfeit LPG. This led to numerous gas explosions because safety measures were not taken into account. As a result of this,  The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority came up with regulations that would regulate the trade.

With the regulations in place, measures to implement them were also put in place. this is to ensure that no one would think of breaking the rules and also to protect the consumers. some of the regulations included;

Issuance of receipts

This measure is supposed to help curb the illicit trade. The receipt issued is supposed to contain the date of sale of a cylinder, contact information of the consumer, name, phone number of the sellers, the serial number of the cylinder and the seal.

This information is supposed to help track and keep a systematic record of how the cylinder moves from the retailer to house holds.

Since some people don’t follow the set rules, a fine of 50000 shillings will be imposed on anyone who will be caught breaking the law.

“A person licensed to undertake the business of retail of liquefied petroleum gas in cylinders shall issue liquefied petroleum gas consumers with a receipt,” Petroleum (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) Regulations 2019 say. “A person who contravenes this regulation commits an offense and is liable to the fine.”

Transportation of more than 3 LPG cylinders without regulatory exemption.

With this regulation, The energy and petroleum regulatory body hoped to have a documentation of every wholesale trader, retail traders, authorized refilling agent and cylinder requalification agents, serial numbers or quick response codes and date of requalification of each cylinder.

Dealers and Wholesalers who fail to keep gas cylinder records for more than a year also face a fine of Sh50,000 for each offense.

Penalties for illegal gas refiling and discharging bulk gas in a location that lacks regulatory approval have been increased more than tenfold to a minimum fine of Sh10 million.

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