The petroleum ministry on Friday appealed to consumers to opt for piped natural gas (PNG), if available in their vicinity, to help reduce pressure on LPG.
Addressing a media conference, Sujata Sharma, joint secretary (marketing and oil refinery), ministry of petroleum and natural gas, said the country had 1.5 crore domestic PNG consumers, and supply to all of them was being ensured without cuts.
According to available data, approximately 60 lakh households across the country have access to PNG connectivity in their vicinity but these consumers are not availing themselves of the facility. The government urged such households to use these
PNG connections because of the prevailing geopolitical situation.
“I appeal to such consumers to opt for PNG connections as this will also help reduce some pressure on LPG,” she said.
She also flagged issues related to commercial consumers facing difficulties because of their reliance on LPG supplies. “We appeal to all such commercial consumers to contact their local CGD (city gas distribution) network provider or their designated dealer to obtain a PNG connection.”
The government is ensuring uninterrupted supply of domestic PNG and compressed natural gas (CNG) for vehicles. There has been a massive surge in daily LPG bookings, largely attributed to panic, with 75.7 lakh average bookings against 55.7 lakh before the war in West Asia began.
The government said that promoting the use of domestically supplied PNG for residential consumers would help conserve domestic LPG cylinders. “The conserved LPG cylinders may be diverted for use in other consumer areas, where PNG connectivity is not available,” the government said. Such LPG consumers have been advised to switch from LPG cylinders to domestic PNG for cooking purposes.
Since there is no fixed timeline for installing a new PNG connection, it will be challenging for the local authorities to meet the demand. The process for installing a new connection includes technical aspects such as site feasibility inspection and pipeline laying and gas meter installation at the applicant’s premises, which may prevent the company from providing prompt connections.
To address LPG supply concerns, the government has told authorised gas distribution entities in major urban centres to immediately offer new PNG connections to affected commercial and industrial consumers.
The government has also requested expedited clearances from all local bodies concerned, highway authorities and state governments for pipeline-laying requests
from distributors.
The spokesperson for Indraprastha Gas Limited said the company was mobilising more workforce for prompt connections.
Marking it as a progressive step, the government said “the commercial and industrial consumers shall contact their local city gas distribution company for getting a new connection”.
Sharma said domestic production of LPG had already increased by 30 per cent since March 5. “There is no need for panic bookings, and there has been no dry out at any LPG dealer,” she added.
The government said there had been no reports of dry-out situations at any of the 25,000 LPG distributorships in the country for domestic supplies.