At least 22 people lost their lives and another 188 were injured in petroleum and LPG-related accidents in Kenya during the year to June 2026, with petroleum tankers responsible for the highest number of incidents and casualties.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) recorded 121 accidents involving petroleum and LPG during the period ending June 30, 2026. Of these, 104 involved petroleum and LPG tankers, highlighting the high number of incidents linked to the transportation of the products.
Petroleum tankers were involved in 77 accidents, making up 63.6 per cent of all the cases reported. The incidents resulted in 17 deaths and 135 injuries.
LPG tankers accounted for 19 accidents, representing 15.7 per cent of the total. While the incidents injured 16 people, no deaths were recorded.
EPRA further reported nine accidents involving LPG among domestic users. The cases, which accounted for 7.4 per cent of the total, left two people dead and seven others injured.
Foreign-registered petroleum tankers were involved in eight accidents, or 6.6 per cent of the total, resulting in 11 injuries but no fatalities.
Six accidents occurred at retail and dispensing stations or consumer sites, accounting for five per cent of all incidents. They left three people dead and 19 injured.
Two railway-related accidents were also recorded, representing 1.7 per cent of the total, although neither caused deaths or injuries.
Human error by drivers emerged as the most common reported cause of the accidents, accounting for 46.3 per cent of the cases.
The regulator said third-party involvement or other vehicles was responsible for another 20.7 per cent, while gaps in transporters' safety management systems accounted for 14 per cent.
"Third-party or other vehicle involvement contributed a further 20.7 per cent, indicating that a significant share of accidents resulted from the actions of road users beyond the licensed vehicle," reads the report.
Equipment and vehicle maintenance problems accounted for 8.3 per cent of the incidents, while unsafe LPG handling and siting contributed five per cent.
A combination of driver, road and weather factors accounted for 2.5 per cent, while road conditions were linked to 1.7 per cent of the accidents.
EPRA listed inconclusive causes and suspected malicious acts at 0.8 per cent each.
Kakamega registered the largest number of accidents at 16, followed by Bungoma with 13. Nakuru and Uasin Gishu each recorded 11 cases.
Bungoma posted the highest number of injuries among the counties listed, with 55 people injured and five deaths.
Kakamega recorded three fatalities and 11 injuries, while Nakuru had one death and 23 injuries.
In Uasin Gishu, two people died and 13 were injured. Busia recorded nine injuries without any deaths, while Makueni reported two deaths and five injuries.
Nairobi recorded one death and six injuries, while Kisumu had one death and 15 injuries. Murang'a and Kilifi each recorded two injuries, with no deaths reported in either county.
The EPRA report also shows that electrical accidents declined during the year, falling to 129 from 141 recorded in the previous year.
The 129 incidents were an 8.51 per cent drop from the previous year's figure. EPRA said electrical accidents reached a five-year high of 153 in 2023/2024 and a low of 116 in 2022/2023.
Despite the decline in the number of cases, electrical accidents during 2025/2026 resulted in 82 human deaths, 43 human injuries and 19 animal deaths.
To improve compliance and safety, EPRA conducted 4,845 inspections during the reporting period.
The inspections covered 3,876 retail and wholesale sites, 833 LPG road tankers and 136 LPG storage and filling plants.
The regulator also carried out technical audits at 65 LPG storage and filling plants to establish whether they met safety, environmental, health and other regulatory requirements.
EPRA said the inspections were guided by the Energy Act Cap 314, Petroleum Act Cap 308, Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act, 2015, Occupational Safety and Health Act, 2007, relevant Kenya Standards, international standards, industry best practices and maritime guidelines.
"Where non-compliance was found, affected facilities were required to prepare corrective action plans, followed by inspections to verify implementation," EPRA said.
During the year, the Authority received 489 complaints and resolved 482 of them. Seven complaints were still being reviewed when the reporting period ended.
EPRA also dealt with 187 disputes, resolving 161, equivalent to 86.1 per cent, by the end of June 2026. The other 26 cases, or 13.9 per cent, were still undergoing resolution.
Kenya Power was involved in the largest share of the disputes, with 165 cases representing 88.2 per cent of the total.
KETRACO followed with eight disputes, accounting for 4.3 per cent, while REREC recorded three cases, or 1.6 per cent. Petroleum-related disputes stood at 11, representing 5.9 per cent.
Billing disputes topped the list with 72 cases, followed by 50 complaints over disconnections and 30 infringement-related disputes.
Six cases involved property damage caused by power surges, while two disputes concerned poor-quality petroleum products.
The remaining 27 disputes involved issues such as licensing, faulty meters and applications for new electricity connections.