ZERA to revise gas handling, storage procedures
BRIDGET MABANDA
HARARE: The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) has said it will revise the Zimbabwe Standard for handling and storage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) called ZWS960 Part 1-3 of 2012 and put it on brochures and pamphlets for easy reference by the public.
Andrew Guri, ZERA petroleum infrastructure engineer said there is need for raising safety awareness continuously because the authority has recorded a number of gas cylinders accidents due to insufficient knowledge on how to handle the gadgets.
“Handling of flammable substances especially with the temperatures that we are experiencing this season is a cause for concern. We continue discouraging the public from buying LP gas from unlicensed people especially those who are selling gas from their dwelling places,” said Eng Guri.
Guri said the authority has noticed a number of people who sell LP gas on house verandahs inside yards and there is no way such facilities can be licensed.
He said there are dangers of under filled and over filled cylinders.
“Most accidents are coming from people who are selling gas illegally, and people who are not handling the LP gas properly in their households.
“We had an accident in Glen Norah where a house maid was cleaning the house and she temporarily put a gas cylinder on a stove.
“There was no power at that time, but the stove was on and she forgot to remove the cylinder the whole day and when power was back the gas was still on the stove, imagine what happened,” said Eng Guri.
He said the use of LPG is gaining momentum in Zimbabwe as an alternative source of energy. The product is widely used by consumers of various backgrounds from industrial, domestic, commercial and farmers and there are some precautions that one can take to avoid accidents when travelling and when using gas for domestic purposes.
He said there is no harm in carrying 9kg cylinders in heads, wheelbarrows or in cars at the back but must always be in a vertical position and a valve on top.
Eng Guri said these are some of the issues they are going to put in the brochures and pamphlets that will be accessible at licensed retail outlets.
“We are also training retailers to train consumers about LPG handling. So that is why we encourage people to buy gas from licensed retailers since those are the people, we give educational support and they are able to inspect cylinders to see whether the cylinder is still fit for use or not,” he added.
He said that good cylinders have marks for safe use, there are two arrows to show that they must be always in a vertical position and there is a cross which shows that one must not put it on an electric stove.
Eng Guri said people should read what is written on the gas cylinders and ask questions from licensed retailers concerning gas handling.
Last year, five people were seriously injured, one of them seriously after a LP gas tank they were using malfunctioned and exploded at a house in Brockdale, Bindura.
In July this year, four family members from Lushongwe Village in Gwanda lost their lives in a gas explosion accident.
Meanwhile, ZERA has said at least 87 renewable energy Independent Power Producers (IPPs) licenses have been issued by the authority to date and the projects have a cumulative installed capacity of 1, 904.49 MW and the capacity that is operational so far is 134 MW (7 percent), whilst 78.6 MW (4 percent) is under construction and expected to be commissioned this year.