Members of Parliament have rejected a government proposal to introduce an open tender system (OTS) for importing cooking gas, a plan that aimed to lower prices and bring the commodity under State regulation, similar to petrol, diesel, and kerosene.
The National Assembly Committee on Delegated Legislation said it could not approve the Petroleum (Operation of Common Petroleum Facilities) Regulations, 2025, citing procedural breaches and lack of public participation.
“The committee recommends that the House annuls in entirety the following regulations for the following reasons; the legal notices were published on May 10, 2025 and transmitted to the Clerk of the National Assembly on July 11, 2025 being outside the seven sitting days timeline contemplated under Section 11(1) of the Statutory Instruments Act,” the report reads.
The committee also noted a “failure to demonstrate public participation in compliance with Article 10, Article 118 of the Constitution, and Section 5 of the Statutory Instruments Act.”
If adopted, the regulations would have turned private cooking gas terminals into common-user facilities, granting the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority power to set tariffs for handling, storage, and even retail pricing of LPG. The proposed OTS model would have allowed import tenders to go to suppliers quoting the lowest prices, ensuring fair access and reducing consumer costs.
Currently, LPG importation is handled privately through two terminals, preventing the State from regulating prices. The proposed rules were part of ten sets of regulations the committee has now recommended for annulment.
EPRA Director General Daniel Kiptoo had earlier stated that the regulations would lay the legal foundation for shifting to the open tender model for LPG importation, a system already in use for other petroleum products.
The rejection comes amid growing public frustration over high cooking gas prices despite government tax cuts. One of the scrapped proposals would have introduced a token-based LPG payment model to make refills more affordable for low-income households.
Parliament will now debate the committee’s report before making a final decision. Historically, lawmakers have upheld such recommendations, making the annulment highly likely.
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