State-owned oil marketer National Oil has revealed that
plans are underway to avail cooking gas to the public for as cheap as Sh50.
According to the plan, the cooking gas will be dispensed
through the mobile gas refill concept in small quantities going for as little
as Sh50, in what is hoped will increase uptake of the more environment-friendly
energy source.
The project is set to be officially unveiled early next week
and various models of dispensing the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in small
quantities will help poor households meet their daily demands, especially for
lighting using special gas refillers.
This new move is aimed at reaching out to people who are
used to buying paraffin and firewood to take care of their daily cooking needs.
Details of the plan are still scanty but it is understood
that the firm is currently finalising talks with some of its distributors on
how to implement it.
National Oil launched its SupaGas brand of cooking gas in
2008 and since then, SupaGas has grown to become one of the leading brands in
the country, commanding a sizeable market share.
The firm launched a 3kg cylinder, the smallest cylinder in
the market in 2011.
The standard retail cylinders in the market are the 6kg,
13kg and 50kg.
The 6kg gas is currently retailing at between Sh800 and
Sh1,000, depending on the brand and location while the 13kg is currently
retailing at between Sh2000 and Sh2200.
The introduction of the smallest cylinder in the market was
part of a broad strategy to ensure that LPG was affordable to a majority of
Kenyans unable to afford the standard cylinder sizes
