Kenyans to Get Reprieve in New EPRA Proposal on Cooking Gas Prices

The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has announced plans to introduce maximum retail prices for cooking gas, which are set to come into effect in October 2025.
EPRA Director Daniel Kiptoo announced that this change is intended to protect consumers from volatile market prices.
He added that the relevant legal and regulatory rules are already in place and that discussions are ongoing with various groups regarding the Open Tender System (OTS) for large-scale gas imports.
“The framework is already in place, the OTS agreement is ready, and it has been negotiated with the industry, so we are now just looking at a transition plan. We have to get Oil Marketing Companies to sign up on the Open Tender System Agreement,” Kiptoo explained.
The plan also includescentralised importation and common-user facilities to reduce costs, with EPRA setting maximum retail prices.
The government could also make a deal with another country to buy the products, just like it does for other oil imports.
“We also announced to start engaging with suppliers, make a decision as to running the first OTS, but also recognise there have been imports coming in privately, so we have to work on a proper transition plan. In terms of timelines, we are looking to ensure that we roll this out before the end of the year,” Kiptoo added.
The authority said that the other two products being considered for this central buying system are Heavy Fuel Oil, which is mostly used as fuel for ships, and bitumen, which is mainly used for building roads and for waterproofing.
According to EPRA, the OTS will let companies compete to offer the best prices. The companies with the lowest bids will win the contracts to bring in the products, which will then be sold to other businesses and finally to consumers.
The plan also includes having a central place for imports and shared facilities. This should help lower costs and allow EPRA to set maximum prices for the products.
EPRA also issued awarning to dealers who run illegal cooking gas businesses. Under a new rule that their permits will be taken away. This is to make the industry safer, save lives, and improve health and economic benefits related to cooking gas.
“Every one of the 4.7 million cylinders that Proto Energy has in the market all of them have a barcode, and the barcode has a scanner in it. So we actually can tell. So ours is to integrate it as a whole country with the rest, so that then we can track,” he added.