Centre pushes LPG users to switch to piped natural gas amid supply strain

The Union ministry of petroleum and natural gas has asked states to accelerate the migration of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumers to piped natural gas (PNG), wherever infrastructure is available.

Citing an under-recovery of ₹690 per domestic LPG cylinder, petroleum secretary Neeraj Mittal has urged states to direct district collectors and urban local bodies to nudge households to switch to PNG connections where these are in place.

In a letter to chief secretaries of states and Union territories, Mittal said that despite notices issued to consumers with existing PNG connections to surrender their LPG cylinders, “field experience indicates that access constraints, consumer non-responsiveness and local issues have limited the effectiveness,” slowing the pace of PNG adoption.

The ministry said active involvement of district and urban administration would improve ongoing efforts to expand the PNG network.

"I, therefore, request that instructions may be issued to District Collectors/District Magistrates/Commissioner/Special Officers of Urban Bodies to collaborate with respective State Level Coordinators /CGD entities to nudge and urge LPG consumers to fully migrate/PNG, wherever available," the secretary said in the letter to states.

On 25 May, the government barred households with PNG connections from refilling LPG cylinders with immediate effect, as India looks to conserve cooking gas supplies amid disruptions linked to the West Asia conflict. A gazette notification by the petroleum ministry said consumers shifting to PNG must surrender their LPG connections or obtain a transfer voucher within 30 days to enable future access in non-PNG locations.

Earlier, in March, the government had asked PNG consumers to surrender LPG connections within three months.

Queries sent to the petroleum ministry on Wednesday evening were not immediately answered.

The government has said the daily under-recovery on petroleum products, including domestic LPG, is around ₹600-700 crore. Under-recovery refers to the notional loss incurred by oil marketing companies when they sell fuel in the domestic market below international prices.

At the same time, amid elevated global LPG prices and supply constraints, the government has reduced the number of cylinders provided to households under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana to four from nine earlier.

The secretary also noted, “It is brought to your notice that OMCs are currently facing a loss of ₹690 per LPG cylinder, which translates into an annual loss of around ₹1.38 trillion. Apart from this, the government provides a ₹300 per cylinder subsidy to PMUY households, amounting to an additional outgo of about ₹19,000 crore per annum. Therefore, there is an urgent need to use alternative fuels, including PNG, which is also cleaner and more user-friendly.”

Mint earlier reported that the government has provided state-run OMCs financial support of around ₹1.23 trillion for losses during the first 78 days of the West Asia conflict, including excise duty cuts on petrol and diesel aimed at shielding consumers from higher crude oil prices.