The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) has urged individuals and businesses to use generators that run on gas to reduce air pollution.
Speaking at a stakeholder consultation and feedback meeting in Harare recently, ZERA senior engineer Samuel Zaranyika said:
On LP gas, I’m sure the usage of LP gas has risen and the majority of users of LP gas use it for heating and cooking.
As the regulator, we are now saying you can also use that LP gas to run small generators.
I think there are a number of companies that are now selling those generators which are more efficient and less polluting.
You can also now use LP gas to drive vehicles instead of using petrol and diesel.
There is an organisation that is converting petrol engines into LP gas engines, and you can now enjoy a smooth drive with less pollution.
NewsDay reported that in 2022, stakeholders raised over 120 issues that ZERA needed to attend to.
One of the issues raised was the failure of independent power producers (IPPs) to raise the money to implement projects that ZERA would have granted licences for. Said Zaranyika:
There were issues of financing that were raised by IDBZ [Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe], ZETDC [Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company], ZPC [Zimbabwe Power Company], ZNCC [Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce], CZI [Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries], the farmers, etc.
There were concerns about the financing of projects, that there were a lot of projects that were not coming to fulfillment and as a regulator, we managed to host an indaba a few weeks ago on financing of projects and we are awaiting results.
Zaranyika said ZERA is also working on fuel quality and has been grading fuel stations for the benefit of members of the public. He said:
There have been also issues concerning fuel quality all over the country. As the authority, we conducted selections and we have got a van that is cutting across the country on a day-to-day basis, checking on the quality of fuel.
To add to that, we have started grading all the fuel stations using the range from A to E. When you see A, it means you are getting the best quality.
More: Pindula News