Kenya is considering offering tax incentives for the use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in order to boost uptake of the green energy source, an official said on Thursday.
Edward Kinyua, director of petroleum and gas, Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) told a forum in Nairobi that the agency is currently in talks with the national treasury to identify tax exemptions that are ideal for local manufacturers of the LPG cylinders.
"The aim is to make the cost of LPG affordable so that low-income households move away from using charcoal, firewood and kerosene for household cooking," Kinyua said during a consumer dialogue forum on the LPG regulations.
Kinyua said that so far a number of LPG cylinder manufacturing plants have been set up locally.
He revealed that LPG is a viable alternative source for cooking fuel that can replace the use of biomass that is the primary source of energy, especially in the rural areas.
"LPG is a clean and affordable source of energy that will help protect our forest cover as well as reduce incidents of respiratory deaths caused by indoor pollution," said Kinyua.
He said that the biggest hurdle for the adoption of LPG is cost of acquisition of the cylinders.
Another avenue the energy regulator is pursuing to promote adoption of the clean energy source is to deliver LPG to households directly through the use of pipelines.
"We have so far licensed one operator to distribute LPG to several housing units through piping," said Kinyua.
Editor:Cherie
