Enacy Mapakame
Zimbabwe’s imports of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) has slowed this year due to foreign currency shortages resulting in long queues at service centres.
This has also resulted in a spike in the price of the alternative energy source in the face of crippling power outages.
This is despite the rapid increase in LPG usage recorded over the past eight years.
Zimbabwe does not manufacture LPG and relies on imports.
But the obtaining foreign currency shortages have seen suppliers failing to meet the rising demand for the commodity.
Domestic consumers have been subjected to long hours of load shedding, raising LPG’s popularity as an alternative energy source for cooking, lighting and heating.
Regulator, Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (ZERA) engineer petroleum infrastructure, Engineer Andrew Guri, said the obtaining electricity shortages in the country caused a spike in demand for LPG, but the industry is failing to meet that demand due to limited foreign currency.
“We are not getting enough LPG at the moment due to foreign currency challenges at a time demand is rising driven by power shortages. We could be importing more right now as a country but there is limited foreign currency.
“That is why there are queues at the moment, demand is outstripping supply,” he said at a ZERA media workshop held in the capital.
According to figures from ZERA, in 2010 Zimbabweans imported an estimated five million kilogrammes of LPG which has since jumped 700 percent to about 40 million kilogrammes in 2018.
All things being equal, the figure is projected to reach 60 million kilogrammes by year end.
Since last October, there have been supply gaps in the energy source resulting in queues forming in some service stations.
The price of gas is currently not controlled, therefore leaving room for some unscrupulous retailers to take advantage of the situation to peg prices on the steep side.
LPG price ranges from between $11 and $20.
LPG usage in Zimbabwe became popular as an alternative energy source especially for domestic consumption when the country struggled with electricity deficits experienced in the past decade.
Figures from ZERA also show that in 2016, Zimbabwe imported 24 million kg of LPG, representing a 388 percent jump from 2010 figures of 5 million kg.
Energy experts say use of gas as an energy source could save the country of grid electricity, and cheaper than setting up a new power plant.
But the sector is still in its infancy compared to other countries. LPG per capita consumption is still at around 2,5 kg per person yet countries that rely mostly on gas are at over 10 kg per capita per person.
Apart from foreign currency shortages, other major concerns for the sector are centred on safety, especially for the end user.
In line with this, ZERA has been carrying out awareness campaigns for both agents and consumers across the country.