Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana has backed President William Ruto’s efforts to expand access to clean cooking gas in Kenya, saying the government’s policies are opening up the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) market to competition and could ultimately lead to lower prices for consumers.
Mungatana said he supported the Senate Energy Committee’s report that gave the green light for the establishment of a new LPG storage facility with a capacity of 30,000 tonnes in Mombasa.
The proposed facility will be operated by Asharami Energy, a Nigerian energy company, and is expected to introduce an additional major player into Kenya’s LPG storage and supply market.
According to Mungatana, increasing storage capacity and introducing more players into the sector is critical to breaking the existing concentration in the LPG market.
He said Kenya has for years relied heavily on one major storage facility, the African Gas and Oil Company (AGOL), which has a storage capacity of about 25,000 tonnes.
Mungatana described the situation as unhealthy for the market, arguing that excessive concentration in storage capacity can limit competition and affect consumers.
“I support Kenya’s intentional shift towards clean cooking gas under the policies of President Ruto,” Mungatana said, adding that the country was moving in the right direction by expanding LPG infrastructure and encouraging investment in the sector.
The Senator said President Ruto’s response to the challenge of limited LPG storage capacity included the establishment of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Dongo Kundu in Mombasa, which has been positioned as an important investment and logistics hub.
He also pointed to the government’s efforts to attract Taifa Gas to invest in the country, saying the company is developing a major LPG facility with an investment estimated at about US$124 million.
The Taifa Gas facility is designed to initially hold approximately 30,000 tonnes of LPG, with provision to expand its capacity to about 45,000 tonnes.
Mungatana said the project, which is under construction and nearing completion, is expected to significantly transform Kenya’s cooking gas market by increasing the country’s storage capacity and introducing greater competition.
He argued that competition would be one of the most important benefits of the new investments because consumers would have more than one major supplier serving the market.
“Taifa Gas is under construction and about to be completed. It will be a game changer in the provision of clean cooking gas in Kenya because, for the first time, competition is being introduced into the market,” he said.
The Senator said the entry of Asharami Energy would further strengthen competition, creating a market in which three major players would have substantial LPG storage capacity.
These are AGOL, Taifa Gas and Asharami Energy.
Mungatana said the combined storage capacity of the three facilities would significantly increase the amount of LPG available in the country, reducing reliance on a single major storage facility.
He further argued that increased competition would have a direct impact on consumers through potentially lower prices, improved service delivery and better customer care as companies compete for market share.
The push to expand LPG infrastructure comes as Kenya seeks to increase the use of cleaner cooking fuels and reduce reliance on traditional cooking methods, particularly among households that continue to depend on charcoal, firewood and kerosene.
Access to clean cooking remains a major development and public health priority in Kenya, with the government seeking to expand the availability and affordability of cleaner fuels as part of its broader energy transition agenda.
For Mungatana, expanding LPG storage capacity is therefore not only an investment issue but also an important step towards achieving wider access to clean cooking energy.
He said the government’s approach of attracting private investment while increasing competition could help address some of the structural challenges that have affected the LPG market.
The Senator praised President Ruto and the Energy sector leadership for what he described as deliberate efforts to transform the country’s clean cooking energy landscape.
He said the completion of the Taifa Gas facility and the proposed entry of Asharami Energy would mark an important shift in the market, with increased storage capacity providing greater resilience and competition.
Mungatana maintained that Kenya was moving in the right direction in its efforts to promote clean cooking gas, saying the benefits of the investments should ultimately be felt by ordinary households through improved access, competitive pricing and better services.
“Kenya is heading in the right direction in this regard on clean cooking gas, thanks to President Ruto and the team in Energy,” he said.
The development is expected to place Mombasa at the centre of Kenya’s LPG infrastructure, strengthening the coastal city’s role as a key entry, storage and distribution point for energy products serving the domestic market and potentially the wider region.
