The government is now going to give more impetus to the ambitious plan to deliver natural gas (PNG) directly to homes through pipelines instead of LPG cylinders across the country. To rapidly increase the number of new domestic PNG connections from September 1, an additional 200 SCM of cheap domestic natural gas will be allotted to city gas distribution companies per connection.
The main objective of the government is not only to connect new domestic customers to this network, but also to pay special attention to those houses where connections are already connected but are lying inactive due to some reason.
Incentive scheme will be implemented in two phases
Under this new special scheme prepared by the government, eligible City Gas Distributor (CGD) companies will be given 200 Standard Cubic Meter (SCM) additional domestic gas for each connection if they provide domestic PNG connections with new and active billing more than the prescribed target in their designated areas.
This policy will be implemented across the country with effect from September 1 and will be implemented in two different phases of six months duration each. The additional gas to be provided under this scheme will be relatively cheaper APM natural gas produced in India.
Gas companies will get big financial relief
According to the Petroleum Ministry, with the availability of this additional cheap APM gas, the dependence of CGD companies on purchasing expensive imported LNG from the international market will be reduced to a great extent. This will lead to a direct decline in the total gas procurement cost of gas companies and their capital investment in expanding domestic PNG infrastructure will prove to be more profitable.
According to government estimates, with the implementation of this scheme, the recovery time for the huge investment made on the domestic PNG network is likely to reduce from about 10 years to just 3 years.
PNG connections crossed 1.74 crore in the country
At present, more than 1.74 crore domestic PNG connections are operational across India. The Central Government is continuously promoting piped natural gas as a very convenient, safe and relatively clean fuel compared to traditional LPG cylinders.
The biggest feature of using PNG is that consumers do not have to face the hassle of repeatedly booking refills or waiting for delivery when the cylinder runs out. There is 24-hour uninterrupted supply of gas to the kitchen through the pipeline and consumers pay the bill every month only for the gas used as per their meter reading.
Government's emphasis on adopting PNG instead of LPG
In view of the various challenges arising during the recent West Asia crisis regarding uninterrupted supply of LPG in the global market, the government has increased its focus manifold on rapid expansion of the domestic PNG network.
According to official government data, since March this year, more than 5 lakh new PNG connections have been completely gasified (gas supply started) across the country. More than 5.7 lakh new consumers have registered themselves to get PNG connection. The government is encouraging consumers to surrender LPG and is actively working to convert housing societies into PNG by running the PNG Drive 2.0 campaign.