The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor
NEW residential areas in Bulawayo will now be required to also set up gas pipe reticulation systems in the same manner as they set up sewer, water and roads, as the city continues to embrace the drive towards alternative energy.
A reticulated gas system is an innovative piped network system that delivers cooking gas through pipes to individual kitchens from a centralized bank of the cylinder.
According to the latest council report, Bulawayo City Council will now make it mandatory for housing developers to set up the gas piping reticulation system as part of their development requirements.
The local authority noted that they had been receiving a number of enquires pertaining to the use of LP gas hence the need to embrace the provision of piped gas reticulation within all new residential areas.
“This would entail provision of piping for gas just like we provided water and sewer piping reticulation as we service new suburbs. This would be made economically viable by the fact that the communities were embracing the use of gas which had seen a dramatic increase in its use.
“How this was set to work was that a site would be made available for a depot which would be the main distribution point, then distribution of pipes would be provided on road servitudes creating a distribution network covering all households. This meant that households would no longer need to have individual gas tanks as the gas would be channeled through the distribution lines from the depot,” reads the report.
The local authority revealed that they would come up with prepaid meters installed at individual premises so as to govern one’s use of the gas.
“With this in mind therefore it was proposed that the Bulawayo City Council embrace the provision of piped gas reticulation which would comprise a distribution depot, a mainline from the distribution centre, piping from the mainline to the households and prepaid meters for each consumer as opposed to the current situation where each individual household had its own gas tank at household level.
“In this instance it would entail that in new residential areas, as the stands were being serviced, the piping for gas provision also becomes part of servicing so that servicing for gas pipe reticulation could also be tendered out or put out to expression of interest like sewer water and roads,” reads the report.
Contacted for comment, the city’s Mayor, Councillor Solomon Mguni said the gas reticulation system will improve safety standards as individual pipes were difficult to monitor hence the proneness to fire outbreaks being on the high side.
“We want to standardise building plans and domestic energy systems so that as we inspect electricity and water systems, there is also provision for connection to gas and this also assist in fire prevention.
“You will realise that gas as energy is the new normal and we must embrace it and standardise its use and ensure necessary precautionary measures are taken to protect property and life,” said Clr Mguni.
