Households dump ‘dirty’ fuels for LPG over high prices

Graphic by Stanslaus Manthi | Compiled by Tim Odinga  

By TIMOTHY ODINGA More by this Author

Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) consumption grew eight percent last year as more households dumped kerosene and charcoal over high prices.

Full-year energy usage data published by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics reveal that the volume of LPG used last year stood at 360,590 tonnes up from 333,820 recorded in the previous year.

The increase in usage has been solely attributed to a steeper rise in alternative sources of cooking energy.

Official data reveals that despite a slight increase in LPG prices, alternative sources including electricity posted bugger jumps in price last year.

The increase in the cost of cooking fuels came at a time when households were re-arranging their budgets after soaring inflation compounded by increased statutory deductions.

Data from the 2019 Census reveal that LPG is the most popular cooking energy in urban areas with 53 percent of households indicating its their primary source of energy.

Rural usage of clean fuel was low at 5.6 percent with the nationwide average standing at 23.9 percent.

The quantity of Kerosene consumed over the year dipped by 39 percent to 54,620 tonnes from 89,360 in the previous year.

The fuel, a distillate of crude and popular among low-income households touched a record high retailing at Sh205.79 in the October- November review.

The price of a four-kilogram tin of charcoal jumped by 11 percent in the one year to December last year to retail at Sh75.65.

The dirty fuels which cause respiratory diseases with usage over time have also been linked to cancer are popular in slum setups in urban areas, this is due to the high incidence of poverty pushing households to the kadogo economy.

According to the Census data, 17.7 percent of urban households use paraffin/kerosene compared to 1.6 percent in the rural set ups. Usage of charcoal was also higher in urban areas compared to rural areas standing at 17.7 percent versus 7.7 percent.

Campaigns and incentives to encourage the uptake of cleaner fuels such as LPG, have been on the rise to also help achieve a cleaner environment through less pollution and reduced deforestation.

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