A report by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has revealed that all the three regions in the north consume only 4% of the total LPG produced in the country.
Out of the 650 LPG retail outlets in the country, only 30 are situated in the Northern region, Upper East region and the Upper West region.
According to the report, people in the three regions in the north have been forced to depend on fire wood for domestic use.
In 2017, a total of 350,000 metric tonnes of LPG were consumed in the country for domestic, industrial and transportation purposes.
Speaking at an interaction session with the media on the Cylinder Recirculation Module, Chief Executive Officer of the NPA, Hassan Tampuli, said the implementation of the Cylinder Recirculation Module is critical to increasing LPG penetration in the three regions of the north.
“We have to move away from all these, bearing in mind that we want to be able to move beyond the current 23 to 25 percent penetration to a desirable stage of 50 percent consumption. So it has become necessary for us to do something different”, Mr. Tampuli stated.
The Cylinder Recirculation module forms part of government’s moves to ensure a safer, healthier and environmentally friendly way of consuming LPG in the country.
Mr. Tampuli stated that consumers will be more protected by the new module, adding that “I have said it before and best repeating that we cannot just leave our health safety and security to other people”.
Background
Cabinet at a meeting in October 2017, directed that the Cylinder Recirculation Model of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) distribution be implemented.
Per the module, LPG Bottling Plants will be sited away from congested commercial and population centers.
LPG marketing Companies will then procure, brand, maintain and fill empty cylinders for onward distribution to consumers and households through retail outlets.
Low risk stations will be designated for the supply of gas to vehicles.
Nana Oye Ankrah/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana