The LPG auto-gas stations will streamline the supply of LPG, bring stability in its price and most importantly allow vehicles to be refuelled in a safe manner, a spokesman of the LPG Association of Pakistan said here on Monday. The spokesman said the auto-gas stations would also provide additional revenue to the government by bringing the sale of LPG to the end consumer in the tax net.
He added, "The amended rules will facilitate the setting up of stations which will create job opportunities for thousands of people including those involved in manufacturing LPG autogas related equipment." The spokesman further said the federal government in September 2005 had in principle approved the establishment of auto-gas stations with an aim to streamline the supply of LPG and prevent accidents, occurring as a result of illegal decanting.
Accordingly, OGRA was given the task of devising the Autogas Regulatory Framework, which came into being in 2007. To date, only one LPG Autogas Station has been established under the 2007 framework. The reason for the muted response from companies was the restrictive nature of the framework, the spokesman added.
The spokesman said the framework was revised after seeking comments from all LPG Marketing Companies and Third Party Inspectors. The revised rules have only stressed adherence to the LPG code NFPA-58, which already governs the establishment of conventional LPG bottling and storage facilities.
The LPG association is alarmed by the controversy being created in the same rules being extended to auto-gas stations. NFPA-58 is by far the most expansive code covering LPG safety installations and is in use in a large number of countries including the US, he said.
The spokesman further said that illegal decanting of LPG is a common phenomenon in crowded residential and commercial areas with no enforcement by OGRA or any other authority. The amendment in the Regulatory Framework seeks to eliminate illegal decanting; the sole cause for accidents by encouraging the establishment of auto-gas stations in line with a recognised and established international safety standard, the spokesman said.-PR