Nairobi Senator has announced he will summon the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) officials over the Embakasi gas exposition once the Senate resumes sittings.
In a statement via his social media platforms on Friday, February 2, Sifuna said that the Senate's Energy Committee will demand EPRA to map all Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage facilities across the country.
The ODM Secretary-General also noted that they will demand the regulatory authority to tighten the rules of operation of gas filling stations to ensure a fire tragedy does not happen again.
“Once Senate resumes, I will bring the EPRA team before the Energy Committee to explain how this was allowed to happen. We will be demanding a mapping of all such facilities and tightening rules for operations of gas filling stations to ensure this doesn’t happen again,” Sifuna stated.
Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura in a statement earlier said the Thursday night gas explosion incident happened after one lorry loaded with gas exploded, igniting a huge fire that spread quickly in the adjacent areas.
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A flying gas cylinder hit Oriental Godown, burning down the said godown which deals with garments and textiles. Vehicles that were parked near the area of the explosion and various businesses were also razed down by the huge inferno.
Three people were killed in the inferno with over 280 others nursing serious injuries.
EPRA in a detailed statement threw the LPG storage and filing plant in Miradi under the bus saying it was operating illegally.
The authority noted that it declined to give the facility an operating license noting that it did not meet the required standards to earn an operating license.
"Applications for construction permits for a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage and filling plant at the site were received by EPRA on 19th March 2023, 20th June 2023, and 31 July 2023. All applications were rejected as they did not meet the set criteria for an LPG storage and filling plant in that area," EPRA stated.
