New Policy On LPG Usage Soon

The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) would soon introduce a new policy document that would regulate the usage and safety of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in the country to avert disasters that are associated with the usage of the petroleum product.

Presently, the document is being drafted and would be launched soon.

A Technical Director at NPA, Mr. Tagoe disclosed these at the launch of the Consumer Service Week on LPG usage yesterday, which was under the theme: 'LPG-Safety First.'

In the past three years, cases of explosion of LPG cylinders and facilities had become a matter of public concern.

One major example of these mishaps was the explosion at Engas Retail Outlet at Asokwa in Kumasi, which was very catastrophic.

Alex Kofi Mould, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NPA, said his outfit had declared every first week of November as a Consumer Service Week.

Mr. Mould urged consumers to regularly look for leakages on cylinders and check their host pipes and weight.

He also appealed to LPG operators to ensure that their customers received gas in the right product.

“It is the right of the citizens to check that the pump that is dispensing the product in the right amount,” he added.

Mr. Mould explained that the NPA, in collaboration with the Ghana Standards Board (GSB), would set up a committee to study and identify proper cylinders in the country.

Apart from the launching of the event, the NPA also re-launched the Ten Liter Measuring Can, Toll free phone number and Consumer Complaint Form.

The Ten Liter Measuring Can is to forestall any confusion and doubt over fluke purchases at the retail outlets of the Ghana Standards Board.

It is to ensure that fuel fetched at the filling stations were not under-delivered as recommended by the Petroleum Retailers Association and other customers of the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).

Mr. Mould also called on the fuel stations to use the Ten Liter Measuring Can.

Dr. Ferdinand Tay, the President of the Consumers Association of Ghana, on his part, called for the extension of the week celebration to cover the rural areas, adding that it was important to enable them patronize LPG.

By Charles Nixon Yeboah