SPECIAL REPORT : Crisis as 71pc of households use firewood in Tanzania

        Dar es Salaam. The majority of Tanzanians are still using wood fuel for cooking although the country has more than 57 trillion cubic feet of natural gas deposits.

This means it will take long to end tree felling.

Although an analysis of official data shows the consumption of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) increased by nine times in the past six years, the use of wood fuel and kerosene also increased at higher rate.

The data by the Energy Access Situation report 2016 (EASR 2016) shows that the number of households using gas jumped to 7.2 per cent last year from 0.8 per cent in 2011/12.

As a result, LPG imports jumped to 71,311 tonnes in the last financial year from 24,470 tonnes in 2010/11 according to the industrial regulator.

Analysts say competition among LPG retailers increased, reducing slightly the cooking gas price.

But such rise has been outmatched by ever-increasing use of kerosene and wood fuel.

EASR 2016 data reveals that the use of firewood grew fast in the last six years after dropping.

Now, 71.2 per cent of households use firewood for cooking, up from 66.3 in 2011/12.

Charcoal use increased by 24 per cent in the last six years, alarming environmentalists.

Apart from wood fuel, some people still use kerosene for domestic use.

Last year, five per cent of households were using it, the same figure as it was 16 years ago.

The use of kerosene had dropped to almost one per cent in 2011 but it jumped by five times last year, according to EASR 2016 produced by the National Bureau of Statistics and Rural Energy Agency.

Even if the analysis is done by using the Household Budget Survey of 2011/12 as the base, the use of kerosene rose from 2.5 per cent to five per cent last year.

The increase use of charcoal and firewood means forests are destroyed, air is polluted and people’s health is endangered.

UN Food Agriculture Organisation says the ‘biomass fuel’ use has been found to be associated with respiratory diseases, cataracts, low birth weight in babies of exposed expectant mothers and other health conditions in a number of other studies.”

Experts say gas and solar power use reduces health and environment impacts.

The Citizen has learnt that gas is yet to reach many people in the country due to poverty, lack of awareness about the importance of clean energy and limited distribution.

The distribution of LPG is limited to urban areas where middle and higher income individuals are dwelling.

Low consumption

Some people told The Citizen that it is expensive to buy cooking gas equipment and refilling the cylinders.

Due to the cost factor, some families supplement gas with kerosene, charcoal and firewood.

“I mainly use LPG for cooking light food but use charcoal or a kerosene stove,” says Mr Emmanuel Weggah, a resident of Baraccuda in Dar es Salaam.

Some say the cost of refilling LPG cylinder in recent years was almost equivalent to that of charcoal. But the current rise in prices is deterring them.

Ms Elizabeth Nelson, a resident of Mbagala in the city, says gas and charcoal costs are almost the same, but a good story for the former is time effective.

“But since gas prices have risen and money is scarce I have stopped, for a while using gas. I use charcoal, instead,” says Ms Nelson.

She spends Sh20,000 for gas and Sh14, 000 for charcoal every month.

An Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (Ewura) report for 2015/16 acknowledges that “the high cost of LPG equipment – the canister, hose and the stove – might be more of a detriment on LPG use than just the price”.

The Citizen survey shows that the prices of six- and 15-kilo LPG cylinders increased respectively in February to Sh21,000 and Sh52,000 causing people to dig deeper in their pockets to buy the energy, pushing down consumption.

Before, a six-kilo cylinder was sold at Sh18, 000 while that for 15 kilos was Sh44, 000.

Higher gas prices scare away buyers. LPG dealers in Dar es Salaam complain that the business is bad.

“I have not seen improvement in my business since the beginning of the year. Last year things were somehow good and it was understandable despite economic hardships but now I sell an average of one gas cylinder of six or 15 kilos in a week,” says Ms Upendo Mroso, a LPG dealer at Tabata Visiwani.

Last year she used to sell the average of four cylinders a week, with six-kilo cylinders having the highest sales because the LPG was sold at a lower price.

The current situation may force LPG dealers to abandon the business, reducing the network.

Mr Donald Nyoni, another gas dealer in Dar es Salaam, acknowledges the decrease in the gas consumption as business is worsening.

“The majority of my customers have reduced the gas consumption. It seems they have other energy sources.”

The EASR 2016 shows that gas was the most expensive source of cooking energy with the average cost per month of Sh31,874 followed closely by charcoal at Sh30, 611.

The cheapest source is kerosene with the average cost of Sh18,156 a month.

Data reveals that gas was most used by wealthy households in Dar es Salaam

Almost 80 per cent of households that use gas for cooking are found in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza, Mbeya and Manyara.

According to National Bureau of Statistics’ national accounting data 2015, the regions have people with an average annual income above Sh2 million with exception of Manyara.

Even many middle-income people still use wood fuel instead of gas.

EASR 2016 shows that 87.8 per cent of middle income households use wood fuel while only 0.4 per cent use gas.

The current low gas consumption is caused by a number of factors, including few bulk LPG storage facilities and filling plants and the price is not regulated, says Ewura communications and public relations manager Titus Kaguo.

Currently, Mr Kaguo says only Oryx Gas, Mihan Gas, Camel Gas, Lake Gas, Oilcom, Manjis Gas and Orange Gas deal in LPG.

With few companies dealing in LPG there is no guarantee of constant product supply.

Also, Mr Kaguo says unlike fuel which is imported under bulk procurement arrangement, LPG is not.

Apart from importation challenges, prices for LPG are not regulated by Ewura leaving the role to the market forces which in most cases, if manipulated, affect the end users.

The way forward

Environmentalists urge Tanzanians to increase gas consumption to save trees.

Ms Elizabeth Chinga, an environment friend, said there is need for increased awareness to the public about the use of LPG and its importance to health and their surroundings.

“Greater LPG demand means more filling plants, more cylinders, more valves, and more jobs and importantly more lives will be saved through improved air quality,” says Ms Chinga.

Lawyers Environmental Association of Tanzania managing director Rugemeleza Nshala says the government should double its efforts on enhancing the use of gas by improving infrastructure that would enhance its distribution across the country.

Apart from improving infrastructure, he called on the government to provide incentives on gas cylinders to lower their prices.

Dr Nshala’s idea has worked somewhere. Vietnam and Peru increased consumption of LPG from four per cent to 10 per cent in 10 years by reducing VAT and import duty on LPG.

In Indonesia, oil companies sell three-kilo cylinders at half the price with government paying the balance.

In addressing the current challenges reducing gas consumption, marketing companies have introduced LPG cylinders of various sizes to cater for customers with different income levels.

Some companies have started constructing LPG infrastructure in various regions. Mihan Gas, for instance, has expanded its services to 19 regions.

Ewura says has been conducting awareness campaigns countrywide on health, safety and environmental issues.

On ever-increasing price, Mr Kaguo told The Citizen they will only start regulating prices for the product when its importation starts to be governed under the Bulk Petroleum Procurement System (BPS).

The BPS is the one that is currently used in the importation of diesel, petrol, kerosene and Jet-A1 but there have been several postponements in including LPG in the system.

“Whilst there are ongoing arrangements for Ewura to start regulating LPG prices, it is somewhat difficult to start doing so immediately due to the fact that its demand is relatively low and as such, local marketing companies are importing it on individual basis, making it difficult to track,” he said.

According to experts, natural gas is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, but commonly including varying amounts of other higher alkanes, and sometimes a small percentage of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen sulphide, or helium.

It is formed when layers of decomposing plant and animal matter are exposed to intense heat and pressure under the surface of the Earth over millions of years. The energy that the plants originally obtained from the sun is stored in the form of chemical bonds in the gas.

Natural gas is a fossil fuel used as a source of energy for heating, cooking, and electricity generation. It is also used as fuel for vehicles and as a chemical feedstock in the manufacture of plastics and other commercially important organic chemicals. Fossil fuel based natural gas is a non-renewable resource.