City gas firms offers incentives to push piped cooking gas

As part of the government's plan to ease pressure on LPG supplies, the city gas distribution companies have rolled out incentives to encourage consumers to shift from LPG to piped cooking gas (PNG).

Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) - the CNG and piped cooking gas (PNG) retailer in Delhi and adjoining cities - is offering domestic consumers free gas worth Rs 500 if they take a PNG connection and start using it before March 31, while Mumbai-retailer Mahanagar Gas Ltd has announced incentives, including waiver of Rs 500 registration charge for domestic household consumers and Rs 1-5 lakh security deposit for commercial users. Similar promotional measures have also been introduced by GAIL and BPCL, said Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas told reporters here.

Separately, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), has also advised city gas distribution (CGD) companies to deploy additional resources and step up outreach to provide connections to consumers wherever networks are available.

Consumers willing to shift to commercial PNG connections can contact CGD companies through e-mail, customer portals, letters or call centres, she said. "Where pipelines already exist, connections can be provided in the shortest possible time."

She said the current situation was "worrying", but stressed that domestic consumers were continuing to receive supplies and there were no reports of dry-outs at LPG distributorships.

Sharma said crude oil was available in adequate quantities and all refineries in the country were operating at peak capacity. Petrol pumps were functioning normally with no reports of fuel shortages.

Supply of natural gas to CNG and PNG consumers remains at 100 per cent, ensuring uninterrupted availability of CNG for vehicles, she said.

On commercial LPG, distribution has resumed in many states and release, or allocation orders have been issued, she said, adding that states are deciding on the priority list of who should receive gas.

State governments and local administrations have been asked to step up efforts to curb hoarding and black marketing. Oil marketing companies have also activated their teams and carried out surprise inspections at nearly 1,100 locations, including retail outlets and LPG distributorships.