The Institute for Energy Security has urged the government to reconsider its decision to push through the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder recirculation model without broader consultations with the stakeholders, including the LPG Marketers Association.

According to the energy think tank, that decision has affected negatively the finances and operations of the LGP Marketers and retailers.

The IES also said consumption of LPG has gone down because of the high price of the commodity. This is coming after the Tanker Drivers embarked on a sit-down strike, yesterday [August 2^nd, 2022], due to poor conditions of service and the

Chief Executive Officer, Nana Amoasi VII, said available data between 2013 and mid-2022 showed that Ghanaians consume more LPG when prices are lower.

“We understand government intention that is to use the cylinder recirculating policy to deal with safety-related issues and more importantly to make the products more accessible to consumers to drive up demand. However, the issue of accessibility has long been dealt with by the LPG Marketers and retailers themselves. They are currently filling the bottles [cylinders] from the depots and moving them to the doors of consumers.”

“In fact, experience has shown that consumers are rather price sensitive when it comes to the uptake of LPG. It means as the price goes up, demand for the commodity drops. Available LPG data from 2013 to mid-2022 shows that Ghanaians consume more LPG when prices are lower”, he stated.

He further added that consumers are today resorting to firewood and charcoal because of the high price of the commodity.

“Today, IES check shows that Ghanaians are abandoning LPG for alternatives such as firewood and charcoal because of the high prices we are seeing on the market. And so government will rather want to concern with the price element than the issue of accessibility”.

On the sit-down strike by the LPG tanker drivers, Nana Amoasi VII urged government to consider engagement and ensure that the LPG drivers go back to work.