Govt bars PNG users from holding LPG connections

The government has barred households with piped cooking gas (PNG) connections from retaining or obtaining subsidised domestic LPG connections, even as the sector regulator pushed city gas distributors to accelerate PNG rollout to ease pressure on cooking gas supplies amid global energy supply disruptions. In a notification issued on Saturday, March 14, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas amended the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order, 2000, under the Essential Commodities Act, making it mandatory for consumers with PNG connections to surrender their domestic LPG connections. The amended order also prohibits government oil companies and their distributors from providing domestic LPG connections or refilling cylinders for consumers who already have a PNG supply.
The amended order also prohibits government oil companies and their distributors from providing domestic LPG connections or refilling cylinders for consumers who already have a PNG supply. Officials said the move is intended to prevent duplication of domestic cooking fuel connections and ensure more efficient distribution of LPG, particularly in areas where piped natural gas infrastructure is already available.
In a related advisory, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has asked city gas distribution (CGD) companies to expedite conversion of households to domestic PNG (DPNG) and prioritise consumers in areas where pipeline infrastructure has already been laid. The regulator said India's total natural gas consumption is around 189 million metric standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd), of which about 97.5 mmscmd is produced domestically. The regulator added that expanding PNG coverage would support India's energy transition by increasing access to cleaner fuels and mitigating supply disruptions caused by global geopolitical developments.