Cooking gas in Uganda used to be for the rich and affluent with the majority of the population using charcoal and electricity than gas (Most still do). With time, cooking gas also known as LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas) has become a little more widely used than before especially among the urban population.
Buying or choosing cooking gas in Uganda seems obvious at first but it’s not as obvious. In this post, I will be showing you why and how. First of all, there are multiple gas brands in Uganda. Among the many, we have K-gas from Kobil, Mpishi gas from OiLibya, Shell gas, Total gas, Oryx gas, Hashi gas, Hass and Wes gas. Not all these brands are the same in quantity and price. Not all of them are available and accessible everywhere and not all of them are used for the same purpose.
Before you buy cooking gas in Uganda, these are the key things you need to consider.
1. Purpose/Need
What you want to use the gas for is key in choosing what gas brand and size to buy. Do you want to use it for domestic lighting or cooking? do you want it for commercial purposes? All these are important in determining which brand and what quantity to buy.
The gas brands mentioned above sell cooking gas in cylinders/canisters. These cylinders contain varying quantities of gas. Most of the providers have the smaller 6Kg gas cylinder then a 12, 12.5, 13 and 15kg variation (depending on the provider) for domestic purposes. For commercial purposes, there is the 25kg cylinders and bigger depending on your needs.
Homes that predominantly use gas for cooking will need the 12 -15kg gas cylinder while homes that use cooking gas to supplement charcoal or electric cooking would need a smaller canister like the 6kg.
2. Access and Availability
There is nothing frustrating like buying gas happily and when the time to refill comes, you start gas hunting as though cooking gas has become some sort of rare and endangered species of animal. When considering what brand of gas to buy, you want to get a brand that is easy to access and is also available.
For example, when I first bought gas, I bought from a petrol station that was close to where I lived and I thought that it would be easy to access. Every time I tried to refill my gas cylinder, they would tell me that gas wasn’t available. So that brand you buy should not only be accessible but also available as and when you need it.
READ MORE: Cooking Gas In Uganda: Brands, prices, refilling and where to buy
You should consider the number of gas providers supplying that particular brand in your area. If it’s a petrol station, how many of them are within a 5km radius to your residence? This will help in that if one of them didn’t have gas, you would easily get from another.
3. Cost
Cost is also key in choosing what brand to buy. At the end of the day, we all want gas that is affordable. However, affordability shouldn’t compromise on quality. We have already done a comprehensive comparison that will help you compare all the gas brands in Uganda, the costs of the varying quantities, costs of refilling or buying a new cylinder from each provider.
4. Who/where are you are buying from?
Who/where you are buying from is very important for one major reason. In case you are sold gas that is faulty or not working as required, you can always return it so that you are either given another cylinder or refunded. This would be hard to do if you bought from an unauthorized agent.
Buying from an authorized agent is also important so that you are not cheated in terms of the right quantity. Some times consumers buy say a 12kg canister that usually takes them 2 weeks may be a month and it only takes them a week because they weren’t given the right quantity.
Always demand for a receipt when purchasing or refilling your gas so that yo have some leverage when you get a bad service.
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