Despite PNG meter connection, nearly 40% customers can't access piped gas

New Delhi: Nearly four out of ten homes with piped natural gas (PNG) meters currently have no gas flowing to them, prompting the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) to direct city gas companies to resolve the issue quickly. This comes as the government pushes consumers of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), supplied in pressurised cylinders, to shift to PNG amid the energy turmoil caused by the Iran war.

India has 16.5 million domestic PNG connections, of which only 10.3 million are currently getting regular natural gas supply, according to PNGRB data. The remaining 6.2 million households are inactive customers who have meters installed but don't have any gas flowing into their homes.

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In most cases, this is due to the absence of last-mile connectivity, said industry executives. City gas distributors "are advised to expedite the conversion of balance consumers where infrastructure has been laid and the consumer is willing to avail PNG facilities," the regulator said.

Amid the government's push to shift more LPG consumers to PNG, city gas companies such as Indraprastha Gas, GAIL Gas, Mahanagar Gas, and BPCL are offering incentives to promote PNG, Sujata Sharma, a joint secretary in the oil ministry, said. These include free gas worth Rs 500 for households and waivers of security deposits for commercial customers.

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For city gas companies, the bigger opportunity lies not in finding new customers but in activating existing ones who already have meters installed but aren't getting any gas supply, said an industry executive.

The large number of inactive PNG customers is largely due to a rush by city gas companies over the years to ramp up connections to meet licensing targets, which diluted due diligence on actual demand, said another industry executive.

Companies also offered several connections without any upfront payment, allowing customers to pay for meters only once gas started flowing, executives said, adding that in many cases, either the companies couldn't lay the last-mile pipeline or the customer decided against activating the meter since there was no need for PNG.

The no-upfront payment scheme boosted headline numbers as the installation of meters counted as a PNG connection even if the meters never became active, they said.

Despite this, city gas companies have still fallen well short of their licensing targets. By December 2025, they had connected only 16.2 million households with PNG, less than half of the target of 38.4 million households, according to PNGRB.