LP gas demand up 100%

THE demand for liquefied petroleum (LP) gas has increased by more than 100 percent in Bulawayo, putting pressure on suppliers who import the product mainly from South Africa.

Distributors and household users have to wait for several hours to get supplies at depots in the city. Gas has become an option to electricity, which is prone to unscheduled cuts with thousands of unconnected households in new surbubs relying on gas for cooking.

One of the biggest players in the industry, Value Gas, has urged Government to consider allocating foreing currency to LP Gas suppliers to guarantee steady supply of the product.

The company's director Mr Mauris Masike said his company imports LP gas from South Africa and was forced to buy foreign currency on the black market to keep their business afloat. He said buying foreign currency on the parallel market has contributed to the recent LP gas price increases.

"We have seen a record increase in gas users. I can say we have a 100 percent increase in demand because by this time last year, we were selling 800kgs at a particular site per day but now we are selling 2 000kg per day. We are serving an average of 600 to 700 people a day on a particular site, which proves that the market needs us," said Mr Masike.

He said LP Gas was relatively a cheaper source of energy compared to prepaid electricity hence the sharp increase in demand for the gas.