A private sector player is currently working with government to set up a strategic reserve for cooking gas with capacity of 17 million kilogrammes (17,000 tonnes) and this will ensure availability of affordable gas in the country for at least three months.

This was announced Tuesday December 14 by Ernest Nsabimana, the Director General of Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) in an interview with The New Times.

The announcement follows a recent spike in cooking gas prices which triggered the government by introducing subsidies which saw the prices slashed to Rwf1, 260 per Kilogramme from over Rwf1,500.

The new prices took effect on Wednesday December 15.

The new prices means 3kgs of cooking gas will go for Rwf3,780, 6kg will cost Rwf7,560 while 12kg will go for Rwf15,120 according to Nsabimana.

"As a sustainable solution, construction of strategic cooking gas reserves has started although it was first delayed by expropriation challenges. Now that the money is available, the construction works will flow and we hope that they could probably be completed in one year,” he said.

He said that the facility, located in the Rusororo sector, Gasabo District, is being implemented by Societe Petroliere Ltd (SP), a local firm dealing in petroleum products, and urged more private sector players to invest in cooking gas.

Meanwhile he said a team of inspectors will be monitoring the new cooking gas prices being complied with.

"We came up with the new prices after thorough assessment and consultations. Consumers have also to report if they are given cooking gas at the price higher than what RURA has recommended,” he said.

Claudine Nyirabahire, a resident of Remera Sector who usually buys 12 kg of cooking gas said: "It is a sigh of relief for many but still the prices seem to be high considering the income of many.”

She opines that given the prevailing times, it would be much better if the prices at contained below Rwf1, 000 per kilogramme, which she said will also encourage more people to switch from charcoal and wood to cooking gas.

"My family had recently switched to using more charcoal than cooking gas as prices soared. This is good news and we suggest that the government puts in measures that will avoid similar cases of spike in prices of cooking gas,” said Marcel Shirimpumu, a resident of Nyagatovu in the Kimoronko sector.

2024 targets

Infrastructure Minister Claver Gatate reiterated government determination to accelerate measures to reduce the use of charcoal and wood fuel for cooking.

According to the ministry, at least 380 hectares of forest are felled every week for charcoal production and firewood with at least 61,000 sacks of charcoal supplied to Kigali every week.

Kigali consumes 72 per cent of the charcoal produced in the country.

"In the latest statistics, we realized that 79 percent of Rwandans were still using such unclean energy to cook. We want to reduce this percentage to 42 percent in 2024,” he said, adding that besides cooking gas, biogas, briquettes, and improved cooking stoves will jointly help to meet the targets.

Next year, he said, a national census will determine the actual current status in using clean energy in cooking.

"We have a programme that could distribute improved cook stoves to two million Rwandans. They must be affordable and use less wood fuel especially in rural areas. We want that at least all people in cities and those with enough financial capacity use cooking gas,” he said  and noted that institutions like police and the military are already using cooking gas while correctional facilities have not used it  at 100 percent.

All schools, hospitals and others should embrace cooking gas but we have to work with partners to meet the target, he said.

"We have nine companies that trade in cooking gas and we have to make sure they make profits while the price is also affordable to citizens. We are carrying out research to see if we can produce cooking gas from methane gas in Lake Kivu,” he said, adding that local production should come with affordability of the product.

A total investment of $1.37 billion is needed by 2030 to achieve the government’s target of reducing charcoal in the next 10 years to reduce pressure on Rwanda’s forests according to projections from the Ministry of Environment.