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Comprehensive compliance audits and regulatory oversight undertaken by the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) has found four energy companies guilty of breaching their license conditions.
The compliance audits and regulatory oversight are aimed at ensuring adherences to the mandated operational standards as prescribed by the Energy Regulation Act No. 12 of 2019.
The four companies were Mount Meru Petroleum, Uno Energies Zambia, Eco Petroleum and Lake Petroleum.
ERB had since penalised the four companies by taking enforcement action against them, according to a statement issued by the ERB Manager – Public Relations, Namukolo Kasumpa, on Thursday.
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Mount Meru Petroleum had been fined K45,000 for failing to submit a comprehensive fire incident report. According to ERB, timely reporting of such incidents was critical for ensuring safety and allowing the regulator to take necessary actions to prevent future occurrences.
For Uno Energies Zambia, Kasumpa said ERB had also been fined K45,000 of contravening its siting guidelines for petroleum infrastructure.
Adherence to established guidelines is essential to ensure the safety and proper functioning of petroleum facilities. “Eco Petroleum has been reprimanded for failing to provide a functional compressed air system at its service station.
“ERB stated that a functional compressed air system is a critical component for the operational readiness of service stations and as such Eco Petroleum has been mandated to rectify this issue immediately to comply with set guidelines,” Kasumpa said.
In addition, arising out of the 2023 Compliance Audits of Retail Services stations, I7 service stations operated by Lake Petroleum were found to be in breach of their license conditions, which potentially compromised safety and operational efficiency.
“As a result, Lake Petroleum has been officially reprimanded and required to address all non-compliance issues promptly to meet stipulated regulatory standards,” Kasumpa said.
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