The implementation of the cylinder recirculation technique is applauded by two organizations.
The Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), Mr. Duncan Amoah, and the Executive Director of the Institute for Energy Security (IEA), Nana Amoasi VII said the NPA and its partners had done a lot of work to see to the seamless execution of the program. They were speaking in separate interviews after site visits to a cylinder bottling plant at Tema and a cylinder manufacturing company at the North Industrial Area in Accra on Wednesday. Under the model, residents of Accra and Kumasi will exchange empty cylinders for already filled ones at cylinder exchange points. A customer shall be required to register with his country's identification card or another form of identification. By 2030, this policy should lead to increased use of liquefied petroleum gas marketed under LPG from approximately 29 % today to at least 50 %. The security of the distribution chain is also expected to be improved.
The rest of the 6 %, he said, would focus on closing loopholes and ensuring additional safety standards. There's a lot of work left to do. The Authority hasn't fallen asleep yet. “All said and done, I believe that the facility will go on well looking at the structure in place,” he stressed. Nana Amoasi VII, in his view, said that the CRM should be allowed to go forth as there were already sufficient quantities of bottling pants, and Goil's Bottling Plant was well placed to start operations. However, Nana Amoasi VII observed that the packaging area was in good shape and had been equipped with a belt consisting of metal rather than rubber. In her submission during an engagement with market traders in Accra, the President of the Greater Accra Market Traders, Ms. Mercy Naa Afrowa Nii Djan, described the CRM as a superb program that would ensure safety in the distribution chain and also avoid cheating.
We don't have to carry cylinders all over again
We don't have to carry cylinders all over again; Pick up already filled and pay for the gas in it. The inhabitants of the Greater Accra region of Ghana have been selected to undergo some intervention policy by not necessarily owning a cylinder but one can just pick up the cylinder and use the gas and only pay for the gas and later return the cylinder. This initiative is said to start in September this year. The individuals who use gas will only need to take away the filled cylinders and pay for the content. This initiative will probably include Kumasi as well. So everything will be well scheduled as it begins in Accra and later spread all over to the other parts of the country. This is under the control of the National Petroleum Authority and its other related partners under the care of the Energy Ministry. During a press release, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer denoted the plan has been well structured and formulated. This is to ensure smooth and safe disbursement of LPG to the necessary designated areas.
The program is said to have positive implications if it is well implemented looking at the framework of how it's being programmed. The Deputy Chief Executive Officer stated how the registration is going to be using the Ghana card at the center where the exchange will be held to collect data about those who become committed to the service. Some of the cylinders to be disbursed include APPED, SIGMA, etc. Per the policy, cylinders would be accumulated from their manufacturing companies to be filled out. There would be some key officers to carry out the duty. The cylinder will be filled and submitted to the various designated exchange places for some sorting and other relevant activities so that they can be transferred later for consumers to register and pay for. This could be for domestic and commercial usage.
Special vehicles are going to be employed to do the disbursements of the filled cylinders to areas where the consumers could pick them up. In this case, consumers will come with their empty cylinders for a filled cylinder. The main aim of the CRM is to ensure making more than 50 percent of the population could have access to the very safest and decent LPG by 2032. This initiative is to basically improve access to LPG among others. Again this intervention is also to ensure there is a massive reduction in the unwanted loss of lives and properties due to some human activities at the gas filling station. The prices of this would however not be affected on the model of the LPG. If some would have to change then it would be how the consumers are located and how they can access them. The number of cylinders that are going to be deployed would be of different sizes so that consumers can afford any quantity they may need.
Given this, consumers are expected to repair any faulty cylinders that may occur in consumers hands. All materials required from the individual who would like to register need to bring on board their Ghana card and their money to purchase the gas.
Don't use refurbished liquefied petroleum gas cylinders, GNFS
Ghana National Fire Service warns the public of the use of refurbished liquefied petroleum gas cylinders which are available for sale. The caution was in response to the activities of some unscrupulous persons who would sometimes go around collecting or buying damaged, old, and worn LPG cylinders at cheap prices from dumping sites. According to the GNFS, the act is not only illegal, criminal, and dangerous, but also poses a risk of gas leakage from the low resistance points on the cylinder body when filled with LPG, and such cylinders are also at risk of explosion.
The statement stated that hazardous waste was damaged, outdated, rusty, or unused LPG cylinders which were not to be disposed of as normal trash or in refuse collection points. It stated that all those worn-out cylinders should be transported to the outlets of registration gas supply companies, distributors, or LPG recycling centers or plants. To guarantee the security of lives at homes and workplaces, it is also necessary that the purchase of liquefied petroleum gas cylinders should be carried out by solely accredited or authorized dealers. The General Secretariat of the Security Council also called on citizens to provide information that would enable law enforcement services to arrest and prosecute those who commit such crimes and dangerous activities.
