Piped gas to flow in City homes

Bangalore will be among the few cities in the country including Delhi and Mumbai to get piped gas supply to domestic consumers once the Cochin-Mangalore-Bangalore trunk gas pipeline is laid.

L Mansingh, chairman of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) said the Board was all set to lay the pipeline which would enable the agency to roll-out city gas distribution network, supplying Piped Natural Gas (PNG) for households.  
The domestic consumers in the city would then be able to buy piped gas by shelling out only a third of what they are spending now. The chairman also noted that piped gas would be safer to use when compared to LPG.

According to sources, the Board would soon start the bidding process to set up trunk pipelines from Cochin to supply natural gas to consumers of Bangalore and Mangalore.
This is part of the national gas grid, an ambitious project of the board, which comprises a network of gas pipelines that would connect various states. “This network would facilitate supply of natural gas for consumers across the country. Gas is a game changer. The supply of natural gas can galvanise the local economy in many ways.

The city gas distribution network would cover the domestic market. Citizens would be freed from the tension of replacing their gas cylinders periodically,” said the chairman, who was speaking at a conference on Disaster Reduction in Industries here on Thursday.

CNG solution

“The pipeline can also solve the fuel woes of the denizens, as Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is a cheaper and environmentally clean fuel. Further, it could be used to generate power for households and knock out diesel generators. Even industries can use CNG,” noted the chairman.  The Board would also adopt best international practices to ensure safety norms.

“To avoid accidental break of pipeline, common ducting with a single administrator should also be introduced. Further, the state government must proactively prevent supply of spurious CNG kits available in the market. Electronic surveillance of pipelines would also be the responsibility of the state government,” he noted.  

The regulator would also ensure that the bidding companies stick to the safety norms listed by the agency. Meanwhile, Labour Minister B N Bachegowda noted that the state would invest Rs 25 crore to set up a disaster management institute in the city, which would come up in three years.