New Delhi [India], April 20 : More than 39,000 piped natural gas (PNG) consumers have surrendered their LPG connections following a government appeal amid concerns over LPG supply due to the ongoing West Asia crisis, a senior official said on Monday.
Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary (Marketing & Oil Refinery) at the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, shared the update during an inter-ministerial briefing on recent developments in West Asia.
She said the government had urged consumers who have both PNG and LPG connections to surrender their LPG connections to ease supply pressures.
"Since March, about 4,93,000 new PNG connections have been installed and around 5,51,000 new consumers have been registered," she said.
Addressing concerns over supply disruptions, she said that LPG supply had been affected due to the West Asia crisis, but the government has taken multiple steps to ensure effective management. These include increasing domestic LPG production, extending booking periods in both urban and rural areas, and implementing delivery authentication codes (DAC) to prevent diversion.
She noted that the government had earlier set a target of achieving 90 per cent DAC implementation, which has now been surpassed, reaching 92 per cent.
"Due to all these measures, domestic LPG supply is running normally and no dry-out has been reported anywhere," she said.
While commercial LPG supplies were impacted initially, Sharma said about 70 per cent of supplies have now been restored. Over the past five days, around 7,000 tonnes per day of commercial LPG have been sold.
Auto LPG consumption has also increased, with sales reaching around 350 tonnes per day over the last week compared to about 177 tonnes per day in February.
She added that the government has also boosted the availability of 5 kg LPG cylinders. Since April 3, around 7,000 awareness camps have been organised, leading to the sale of approximately 1 lakh 5 kg cylinders. On Sunday alone, about 3,360 cylinders were sold across around 220 camps. From March 23 till now, around 18,45,000 such cylinders have been sold.
On natural gas supply, Sharma said that domestic PNG and CNG transport sectors are being prioritised, ensuring 100 per cent supply. States supporting PNG network expansion are being given an additional 10 per cent allocation of commercial LPG, with around 22 states and Union Territories currently receiving this benefit.
She also said that fuel supply at retail petrol pumps remains normal with no dry-outs reported, and refineries are operating at optimum capacity.
Highlighting enforcement measures, Sharma said around 1,900 raids were conducted recently, with penalties imposed on about 267 LPG distributors and 67 distributors suspended.
She appealed to the public not to believe rumours, stating that an adequate supply of fuel is available in the country.