Govt brings incentive scheme to accelerate household piped gas connections

New Delhi: The government has announced an incentive scheme aimed at accelerating the rollout of piped natural gas (PNG) connections to households, seeking to expand access to cleaner and more affordable cooking fuel across India.

Under the APM/NAPM Incentive Scheme for Promotion of Domestic PNG Connections, eligible city gas distribution companies will receive an additional allocation of 200 standard cubic metres (SCM) of domestically produced, lower-priced APM gas for every incremental billed domestic PNG connection above a threshold set for each geographical area.

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The scheme will run in two six-month tranches, according to an official statement.

The additional APM gas allocation will allow CGD companies to replace more expensive liquefied natural gas (LNG) currently used in their compressed natural gas (CNG) transport operations, reducing their overall gas procurement costs.

The government expects the resulting savings to significantly improve the economics of household PNG expansion. The payback period for capital expenditure on domestic PNG connections could fall to about three years from roughly 10 years, providing CGD companies with a stronger incentive to accelerate network expansion and household connections.

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Separately, a unified PNG registration portal is being developed as a single-window digital platform to streamline applications for new PNG connections and allow consumers to track their requests.

The measures are part of the government's broader effort to increase household access to piped cooking gas and encourage a faster shift toward cleaner, safer and more affordable fuel.