Book LPG only if needed, switch to piped gas if possible: Govt to consumers

According to data shared by Petroleum Ministry Joint Secretary Sujata Sharma, average LPG bookings by households averaged at 55.7 lakh cylinders in the April-February period of the current financial year, but the number jumped over 35% to 75.7 lakh on Thursday, March 12.

Sharma attributed this to panic booking behaviour due to “misinformation” and “rumours”. Despite the constraints in LPG imports, the government, she said, is prioritising supplies to households over commercial and industrial consumers. OMCs are maintaining their earlier average of over 50 lakh cylinder deliveries per day and none of the 25,000-odd LPG distributorships across the country have reported a “dry-out” – running out of stock.

She said there are roughly 60 lakh LPG-consuming households that have access to PNG connectivity in their vicinity, and they could apply for PNG connections with the local city gas distributor to take some pressure off LPG supplies.

Both LPG and PNG are used as cooking fuels. While India has over 33.4 crore households with LPG connections, the number of households with PNG connections is around 1.5 crore. Unlike LPG, where fuel comes in a portable cylinder, PNG involves pipeline connectivity. Given the requirement of connecting homes with pipelines for PNG connections, it remains unclear how quickly a switchover from LPG can be done.

While India’s natural gas imports have also been hit due to the war in West Asia, the situation is relatively better than that of LPG. Moreover, the government has passed an order to ensure continuous natural gas supplies for household PNG connections and compressed natural gas (CNG) for vehicles, while cutting gas allocation to other sectors.

The effective halt in maritime traffic through the crucial chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz due to the West Asia conflict has significantly impacted India’s LPG imports. The country depends on imports to meet around 60% of its LPG requirement, and 90% of the LPG imports come from West Asia through the Strait. This effectively means that roughly 55% of India’s LPG consumption volumes are currently unavailable.

Given the crisis, the government has prioritised LPG supplies to households over commercial and industrial consumers, ordered refiners to maximise LPG production, and directed them to divert propane, butane, and other streams from petrochemical manufacturing to LPG production. Sharma said these measures have led to an increase of 30% in domestic LPG production vis-a-vis pre-West Asia conflict levels.

On black marketing and hoarding of LPG cylinders, Sharma said the Petroleum Secretary and Consumer Affairs Secretary held discussions over video conference with Secretaries of Food and Civil Supplies departments of all states and Union Territories; state governments and district administrations have been asked to step up action on this front.

She said specific action against cylinder theft and hoarding have already led to recoveries and arrests in states like Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh. The OMCs – Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation – have also activated officials to conduct surprise inspections of LPG distributors, she said.