Consumers Evaluate Gas Service in Costa Rica

This Aresep release was published using machine translation.

Bull. 17-2022, April 8. The Public Services Regulatory Authority (ARESEP) evaluated the gas service through a user perception survey.

The use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) predominates in the Chorotega, North Huetar, Central Pacific, Brunca and Caribbean Huetar regions, over consumption in the Central region.

The main use, 93%, is for cooking and drying 4%, heating water 2% and washing 1% are added. The fear to use it has decreased, in 2020 it was 70% and in 2021 it is 57%. Another reason for not using gas is that they prefer electricity or it does not appeal to them.

The main place of purchase is the supermarket or grocery store (64%) and the majority of the population exchanges it (96%), without having a favorite brand. 95% use the 25-pound cylinder.

A worrying situation for ARESEP is that consumers do not know the weight that the cylinder should have and only 53% of the surveys have the perception that the cylinder does come completely full.

In relation to the payment of this service, the survey reveals that 74% pay ȼ10 thousand or more for the full cylinder. The majority, 64%, consider that payment as “High/Very High”. In 2021, the proportion of people who consider that the provider of this service does charge the rate authorized by ARESEP decreased (it went from 77% in 2020 to 53% in 2021).

The presence of aluminum cylinders still persists, since this type of cylinder is found in 1 out of every 4 homes where gas is consumed. ARESEP has carried out a cylinder renewal program to remove aluminum cylinders from the market due to their danger. Another safety aspect is acquiring a cylinder with a screw valve, which is in 38% of homes.

The percentage of households that consume gas that locate the cylinder inside the house continues to be high, since it fell from 82% in 2020 to 73% in 2021. Once again, ARESEP alerts the population that the cylinders have to be located outside houses.

Regarding the condition of the container, 55% of the people interviewed consider that it is in good condition and 83% check the condition, weight and label, but do not check for leaks.

The surveyed population rated the service with a score of 8.6, showing a high degree of satisfaction in most of the attributes consulted, however, the information on safety and cylinder labeling must be improved.