AHMEDABAD: Riding high on its large base of residential piped natural gas (PNG) consumers, Gujarat consumes piped cooking gas twice that of Maharashtra. It is about four times the domestic PNG consumption in Delhi, shows data available with the Union ministry petroleum and natural gas.
Gujarat saw around 11.62 lakh standard cubic meter per day (SCMD)—the highest in India—domestic PNG being supplied to individual households during the period from October 2020to March 31. As against this, domestic PNG sales stood 5.73 lakh SCMD in Maharashtra and 3 lakh SCMD in Delhi, according to a report by the union government’s petroleum planning and analysis cell (PPAC).
Deeper penetration of city gas distribution (CGD) network and wider coverage of natural gas transportation grid along with the presence of multiple companies supplying the piped natural gas have made Gujarat the largest natural gas consuming state in India, said CGD industry players. “Unlike Maharashtra or Delhi, the usage of PNG by households in Gujarat is not just restricted to urban and semi-urban areas. Piped cooking gas is available in semi-urban and rural areas of Gujarat as well. Hence, the consumption of domestic PNG is higher in the state,” said an industry veteran.
For instance: Gujarat had 24.21 lakh domestic PNG connections as of March 31, 2021.The number stood at 19.68 lakh in Maharashtra and 10.56 lakh in national capital territory of Delhi. It may be mentioned here that gas distribution licenses for all the districts in Gujarat have been issued, making it the only state in India to be covered under 100%CGD network. Usage for geysers for heating water is also another factor responsible for higher residential PNG consumption in the state, added industry players. With large industrial clusters in Morbi, Surat and Bharuch consuming natural gas, Gujarat also consumes the highest industrial PNG in the country. Around 1 crore SCMD industrial PNG was sold in Gujarat during October20 to March 2021. As against this, Maharashtra saw sales of 6 lakh SCMD during the same period. Out of the total 11,803 industrial PNG connections in India, Gujarat has the highest 5,411 connections.
