DOE calls for strict monitoring of LPG

By Jorie C. Valcorza

Saturday 9th of June 2012

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Misamis Oriental, June 9 (PIA) -- To fully enforce regulations on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) refilling and distribution, the Department of Energy (DOE) is now pushing for the creation of an LPG Task Force at the local level in bid to strengthen its monitoring.

Alex H. Rayos, chief of the DOE Retail Market Monitoring and Special Concerns Division- Oil Industry Management Bureau (RMMSCD-OIMB) bared during the recently concluded Mindanao LPG Summit in General Santos City that only 50 percent of the 12 million LPG cylinders out in the market today are in good condition and the rest were either dilapidated or subject to testing for defects.

The LPG industry according to Rayos is continually being marred by unsafe and unfair practices such as illegal refilling, cylinder tampering, under-filled cylinders, uncertified, and illegally manufactured cylinders, and the use of scrapped and dilapidated cylinders in the market.

The DOE appeals to the local government units to take a strong stance to stop such activities in the LPG sector and urged the passage of local ordinances that will support the implementation of DOE rules and regulations on LPG.

Meanwhile, the proliferation of refilling recycled butane canisters with LPG in Mindanao were among the top issues discussed during the LPG summit.

The DOE together with the Department of Trade and Industry-Bureau Product Standards (DTI-BPS) warns the public not to patronize the recycling of the said product, as it is designed for one time use only.

DOE Mindanao Field Office Director Manuel M. Llaneza confirmed that LPG may pose danger if contained inside the butane canisters.

“The LPG gas pressure requirement is higher than of butane and may lead to leakage or explosion,” he explained.

Llaneza further pointed out that the refilling of household cylinders in autoLPG stations is likewise illegal and unsafe.

With new issues shaping, it was agreed during the summit for the DOE and DTI to come up with new standard guidelines and specific regulations that would serve as basis for the LGUs in crafting for their respective local ordinances and the reactivation of the LPG Task Force. (PIA 10)