India shifts LPG strategy

India is pushing more 5-kilogram cooking-gas cylinders into the market and speeding up piped-gas hookups as the West Asia crisis strains fuel logistics. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) The shift follows emergency supply measures announced in early April, when the government said small 5-kilogram cylinders had been made more widely available and urged households not to panic-buy liquefied petroleum gas. About 6.6 lakh of those bottles had been sold since March 23, according to a Press Trust of India report carried by Business Standard. (business-standard.com) The smaller cylinders are being used as a quick-buy option for low-volume users because they are sold at market rates and, unlike the subsidised 14.2-kilogram household cylinder, can be bought over the counter without a standard domestic refill cycle. The Hindu reported on April 5 that these 5-kilogram bottles do not require address proof at distributorships. (thehindu.com) At the same time, Indraprastha Gas Ltd is trying to move fixed kitchens off cylinders altogether in Delhi and the National Capital Region. Chief executive Kamal Kishore Chatiwal said the company is adding about 2,100 piped natural gas connections a day and wants to raise that to 5,000 a day. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) That rollout is aimed at homes, police stations and restaurant chains that can use a fixed pipeline instead of waiting for cylinder deliveries. Daily Excelsior reported that more than 100 outlets each of two major fast-food chains have already been connected, with a similar number under execution. (dailyexcelsior.com) The pressure point is commercial fuel. Business Today reported on April 12 that domestic liquefied petroleum gas prices were unchanged while commercial supplies were under close monitoring amid geopolitical tensions. (businesstoday.in) Indian Oil’s published April 1 rates show a 19-kilogram commercial cylinder at Rs 2,078.50 in Delhi, Rs 2,031 in Mumbai, Rs 2,208 in Kolkata and Rs 2,246.50 in Chennai. ET Now reported that the April revision raised the Delhi commercial-cylinder price by Rs 195.50, while domestic cooking-gas prices stayed flat. (iocl.com) (etnownews.com) The government’s approach splits the market in two: small cylinders for households and transient users, pipelines for kitchens that do not move. That lets officials preserve domestic availability while reducing demand from institutions and businesses that can switch to piped natural gas faster. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) (ndtvprofit.com) In parts of Delhi, Indraprastha Gas is also trying to create fully piped neighborhoods so cylinder demand falls permanently rather than only during a supply scare. NewsBytes reported that New Moti Bagh, East Kidwai Nagar and West Kidwai Nagar have already been made liquefied-petroleum-gas-free under that plan. (newsbytesapp.com) For now, officials are still saying there are no dry-outs at distributorships. The strategy is to keep that true by making the smallest cylinders easier to buy and the fixed kitchens less dependent on cylinders at all. (businesstoday.in)