Source: LPG consumption surges sevenfold in decade – herald
Tapiwanashe Mangwiro
ZIMBABWE is undergoing a quiet but profound energy transition — one that is unfolding not in power stations or boardrooms, but in kitchens across the country.
In just 10 years, the consumption of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has surged from 19,7 million litres in 2015 to an estimated 134,5 million litres in 2025, according to Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority data.
The trajectory has not just been upward; it has accelerated sharply, especially over the last five years.
Annual consumption climbed steadily from 24,9 million litres in 2016 to 35 million in 2017, then 38,7 million in 2018, before stabilising slightly at 37,1 million in 2019.
From that point, however, the market took off.
By 2021, LPG volumes had jumped to 56,7 million litres, rising further to 59,8 million in 2022, 66,1 million in 2023 and 77,4 million litres in 2024 before the dramatic leap to 134,5 million litres in 2025.
This represents nearly a sevenfold increase in a decade, marking one of the fastest-growing segments of Zimbabwe’s energy market.
Experts say this surge is no accident.
Zimbabwe’s persistent electricity shortages during drought seasons have forced
households and businesses to seek
alternatives.Rolling power cuts, sometimes lasting up to 18 hours a day, made cooking with electricity unreliable, pushing consumers towards LPG.
Energy economist Mr Innocent Kado says the growth reflects more than just a temporary response to outages.
“What we saw during the power shortage years was a structural transition in household energy use,” he said.
“LPG has moved from being a luxury to a necessity in urban Zimbabwe.”
Industry data supports this view, as Zimbabwe’s LPG consumption reached nearly 60 million kilogrammes by 2022, up from just a fraction of that a decade earlier, highlighting the rapid pace of adoption.
For LPG distributors, the surge has presented both an opportunity and a challenge.
“We have seen demand grow every year, but the jump in the last four years has been unprecedented,” said an executive at B2C Gases, one of the country’s major bulk gas suppliers.
“The 2025 numbers reflect a market that is no longer emerging; it is now mainstream.”
While the expansion has forced companies to invest in storage, transport and cylinder distribution networks, supply constraints remain.
Industry players say Zimbabwe requires significant foreign currency, at least US$3 million monthly, to sustain LPG imports at current levels.
This dependence highlights a key vulnerability: While demand is rising rapidly, the country produces no LPG locally and relies entirely on imports.
The LPG boom is not without its broader benefits.
Energy experts note that increased gas usage is helping to ease pressure on Zimbabwe’s strained national electricity grid.
Mr Andrew Guri, a petroleum expert, previously noted that LPG adoption was relieving demand for electricity, freeing up power for the industries where it is needed most.
“This shift could be critical for economic productivity, particularly in manufacturing, where stable electricity supply is essential,” he said.
“However, the growing reliance on imported LPG could create new macroeconomic pressures, as higher consumption means a higher import bill.”
Beyond economics, the LPG surge is reshaping Zimbabwe’s environmental landscape. For decades, firewood has been the dominant source of household energy, contributing significantly to deforestation.
Zimbabwe loses vast tracts of forest annually, largely due to wood fuel demand.
Environmental researcher Dr Patience Zivengwa says the shift to LPG could help reverse that trend, at least in urban areas.
“Gas is cleaner and more efficient than firewood or charcoal. Increased adoption has the potential to reduce pressure on forests, especially around major cities,” she said.
However, she cautions that LPG is not a perfect solution.
“It is a fossil fuel. While it is cleaner than biomass, it is not renewable. The long-term goal should still be a transition to sustainable energy sources,” said Dr Zivengwa.
At the household level, LPG is not necessarily replacing other energy sources entirely, but rather complementing them.
Studies across Africa show that many households adopt a “fuel stacking” approach, using multiple energy sources depending on availability and cost.
In Zimbabwe, this is becoming increasingly evident. Urban families often rely on LPG for cooking during power outages, but switch back to electricity when supply is restored and becomes stable.
Others still use firewood as a fallback option.
Zimbabwe’s LPG boom reflects a broader shift from traditional biomass to cleaner, more efficient fuels.
In a country where biomass once accounted for as much as 72 percent of energy consumption, the energy mix is slowly diversifying.
The numbers tell a compelling story.
From 19,7 million litres in 2015 to 134,5 million litres in 2025, LPG has moved from the margins to the mainstream, transforming not just how Zimbabweans cook, but how the country thinks about energy.
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