Consumers can now only purchase a refilled LPG cylinder of the same brand as the empty one that they present at the retail outlets.  Before, consumers could interchange empty cylinders of one brand with any available brand of the same size at the retail outlets.

Only the brand owners are allowed to handle and refill their gas cylinders. Previously, the competitors could handle other brand owners’ cylinders which was exploited by unscrupulous business people who would illegally refill cylinders that didn’t belong to them and there was no traceability or accountability of cylinders that were in the wrong hands. The previous system saw brands lose track of 90 per cent of their cylinders, stalling investment in further cylinders, and seeing legal checks set aside as nameless refillers resold cylinders but could not be made accountable for safety breaches.

Cylinders began to develop faults that were not picked up because they were not undergoing the required safety checks. This saw the beginning of cylinders leaking, exploding, and causing awful harm to people’s homes and lives. These safety procedures are now mandatory.

All participants in the LPG industry must now be licensed by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).  This includes importers, exporters, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers. Previously, this requirement was not fully enforced, which led to illegal trading, illegal rebranding, illegal refilling and counterfeiting of gas cylinders.

The regulations have abolished an exchange pool created in 2009 that enabled consumers to interchange their empty gas cylinders for filled ones of any brand of the same size. This system was aimed at enhancing access and convenience to Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), but had the unintended consequence of increasing illicit and counterfeit trade.

The exchange pool has now been replaced by the Mutual Cylinder Exchange System which applies where two or more brand owners agree to interchange their cylinders and obtain approval first from Competition Authority of Kenya’s and then EPRA to ensure that there is no market failure of any form.

An LPG consumer who returns a cylinder to a brand owner is entitled to a refund of the cylinder deposit. Previously, this was not the case as it wasn’t clear if the consumer was buying or putting a deposit for a new cylinder and their righto access the deposit wasn’t clear either.

Regulators are ensuring that oil marketing companies, also referred to as brand owners, continue to deploy safe cylinders that have a unified valve as prescribed by the Kenyan Standard.

Regulators are required to ensure each participant and all activities in the LPG industry are licensed as follows:

a. Brand owners

• Valid Trademark license issued by KIPI
• Valid operating license issued by EPRA
• Check if mutual cylinder exchange agreement exists
• Construction permit from the commission if they are installing a storage facility including land registration number, storage capacity, and scope of project
• Valid license for bulk LPG transport vehicles issued by EPRA
• Valid drivers’ certificates issued by the commission
• Valves being issued are universal

b. Importers and exporters

• Valid import license issued by EPRA
• Construction permit from the commission if they are installing a storage facility land registration number, capacity of the facility and scope of project.
• Valid license for bulk LPG transport vehicles issued by EPRA
• Valid drivers’ certificates issued by the commission

c. Reticulated LPG

• Providers of piped gas to homes from a single storage point are required to have
• Valid operating license from EPRA
• Is running an accidents and complaints register

d. Wholesalers

• Valid license issued by EPRA
• Written consent document by brand owner to sell their brand
• Construction permit from the commission if they are installing a storage facility
• Valid license for bulk LPG transport vehicles issued by EPRA
• Valid drivers’ certificates issued by the commission
• Valves being issued are universal

e. Retailer

• Valid license issued by EPRA
• Written consent document by brand owner to sell their brand
• Valves being issued are universal
• Customer receipt book has the following information spaces:
• Name, address and telephone number or retailer
• Name and telephone number of consumer
• Date of sale
• Cylinder brand
• Serial number of cylinder
• Net weigh in KG of the cylinder
• Unit and total price of the transaction

• Tank saddle
• Drainage
• Gas traps
• Firefighting system
• Enough storage capacity in the first year to store:
  • a minimum of 5,000 cylinders for brand owners
  • a minimum of 2,000 metric tonnes a year for importers
• Enough storage capacity after the first year for brand owners to store;
  • At least 10,000 cylinders in the second year
  • 15,000 cylinders in the third year
  •  20,000 in the fourth year

• Cylinder brand
• Serial number of each cylinder
• Manufacturing date – the cylinder should be revalidated within eight years
• Net weight in KG of the cylinder

• License to fill/refill
• Authorization from brand owners to fill/refill
• Compliance with standard operating and safety procedures and best practices for pre-filling and filling of cylinders as outlined in the regulations

Two, serviced, dry-powder fire extinguishers of at least 9kg each

Regulators are obligated to oversee the maintenance and provision of stock records by all industry participants, being:

1. By brands/ oil marketing companies:
   1. All their authorised agents
      1. Filling agents
      2. Wholesalers
      3. Retailers
   2. All cylinder return points
      1. EPRA to collect records of all return points from brand owners
      2. EPRA to publish them on its website
   3.  New cylinders stock numbers

Brand owners are obligated to declare to the Energy Commission all new cylinders they have imported or manufactured locally within two months of acquisition, recording:

1. Capacities and numbers of cylinders imported or manufactured locally
2. Manufacturer’s name and country of origin
3. Landed cost of the cylinders, inclusive of all import taxes
4. Serial number of each cylinder

 d.  Annual stock details for brand owners

Records of all cylinders bought or sold each year, including:

• Serial number of each cylinder
• Cylinder brands
• Date of purchase of each cylinder
• Name of business entity from which the cylinders were purchased
• Date of resale of each cylinder
• Name of retailer to which the cylinders were sold
• Net weight in kilograms of each cylinder sold

1. By importers

• Monthly stock details

A monthly record submitted to the Energy Commission by 10^th of each calendar month, itemising:

• Total quantity in metric tons of bulk LPG imported
• Source of the imports
• Total quantity in metric tons of bulk LPG sold in the local market
• Total quantity in metric tons of bulk LPG sold in the export market
• List of bulk LPG sales to LPG consumers indicating quantity in kgs, dates and places of delivery
• Total bulk LPG filled in cylinders

• Notification of imports prior to importing

Notification to the commission within 24 hours prior to arrival of imported LPGs:

• Load point of the bulk LPG
• Total quantity of the bulk LPG in KG
• Final destination point of the LPGs

(c) By articulators (supplying gas locally by pipeline)

• LPG records

Maintain records of all bulk LPG purchased and delivered, including:

• Time and date
• Vehicle registration number
• Name and license of LPG supplier
• Quantity of LPG

• Consumer records

Create a service contract for each consumer, covering:

• Name, address and telephone number of the operator and the LPG consumers
• Rights and obligations of the parties
• Emergency Response Plan in case of emergencies such as a leak, fire etc
• Billing period and the mode of payment
• Total cost per kg
• Dispute and complaints handling procedures

• Declare number of competitors' cylinders in their possession within one month
• Collect their empty cylinders from competitors within two months - uncollected cylinders after six months of regulation enforcement, can be rebranded by the holder upon meeting the legally prescribed requirements
• Within two months declare to the EPRA the points where consumers can return their empty cylinders.

• Cylinder brand
• Serial number of each cylinder
• Manufacturing date – the cylinder should be revalidated every eight years
• Net weight in KG of the cylinder

• nsure that the standard refilling process is adhered to as they are the sole owners of the cylinders and if there is an accident, the LPG brand owner bears the responsibility.

• Within one month, declare new cylinder stock numbers and manufacturers to EPRA
• Maintain and declare to EPRA stock details of all cylinders purchased and sold, being:
• Standard identification features
• Name of business entity from which the cylinders were purchased
• Date of purchase of each cylinder
• Name of retailer to which the cylinders were sold
• Date of resale of each cylinder

• Maintain a list of all cylinder return points.
• Submit to EPRA upon request to publish them on its website

• To obtain a valid license from EPRA to import, complete an online application available on the EPRA website and submit with scanned original copies of:
  
  Business registration certificate/ certificate of incorporation
  Up to one-year-old CR12: from the registrar of companies giving details of the company shareholders
  National IDs or passport of company directors
  Valid single business permit from the county government
  KRA PIN certificate
  Valid tax compliance certificate
  Work permit class "G" for foreign directors working in Kenya
  Proof of access to a licensed storage facility for importers, obtained through ownership of a long-term lease of 5 years minimum
  Proof of presence in the market for importers through the ability to supply at least 2,000 metric tonnes a year, and through the ownership of a cylinder brand
  Proof of access to supply LPG by either being a holder of a bulk LPG import license, or a supply agreement with a holder of a valid bulk LPG import license.
  To obtain a license to transport bulk LPG, submit to EPRA;
  
  Documents 1-8 (outlined in the business operating license above) then add valid scanned original copies of:
  Valid certificate of calibration for the Bulk LPG tank mounted on each Bulk LPG transport vehicle obtained from the Department of Weights and Measures
  Report on Examination for the LPG tank mounted on each transport vehicle
  A comprehensive emergency preparedness and response plan
  Certificate of Conformity to the Kenya Standard for each Bulk LPG transport vehicle
  Fire certificate from the county for each transport vehicle
  Motor Vehicle Inspection certificate for each transport vehicle issued by NTSA
  Proof of fitting the vehicle with a working GPS-enabled tracking system
  Logbook for each Bulk LPG transport vehicle, in the name of the applicant, or a valid lease agreement with the Bulk LPG transport vehicle owner
  Medical Report for each driver from a Designated Health Practitioner as per Occupational Health and Safety Act 2007;
  Driving licence for each driver;
  Proof of attendance of a defensive driving course for each driver from the Commission
  List of transport vehicles to be used plus the Tanker Permit for each vehicle as issued by the Commission.

1. The cause of the accident
2. The effects of the accident
3. The proposed remedial measures and timeline

Submit a completed online application form, available from EPRA website, with

scanned original copies of:

• Business registration certificate/ certificate of incorporation
• Up to one-year-old CR12: obtained from the registrar of companies to show details of the company shareholders
• National IDs or passport of company directors
• Valid single business permit from the county government
• KRA PIN certificate
• Valid tax compliance certificate
• Work permit class "G" for foreign directors working in Kenya
• Trade Mark registration certificate obtained from the Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI) kipi.go.ke
• Valid Weighing Scale Calibration Certificate obtained from the Department of Weights and Measures
• Certificate of Conformity of the Cylinders to the Kenya Standard
• Proof of ownership of a minimum of 5,000 standard capacity cylinders
• Inventory for each cylinder, giving serial number, capacity, and landed or ex-factory cost inclusive of all taxes
• Valid insurance cover against injuries to LPG consumers and third parties relating to faulty cylinders
• Copy of applicant’s Customer Complaint Handling Procedures LN NO.49 of 2012 obtained from EPRA.

Fines and penalties for failure to adhere to the regulations

The receipt must state:

• Name, address and telephone number of the retailer
• Name and telephone number of consumer
• Date of sale
• Cylinder brand
• Serial number of cylinder
• Net weigh in KG of the cylinder
• Unit and total price of the transaction

This will be ensured by cylinders that:

• are revalidated within eight years of the date of manufacture
• have a clear brand name, symbol and seal
• do not have a defaced shape
• have valves that are universal and fit well
• are refilled using the right process by brand owners
• have accurate weights indicated on them