The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has asked city gas distribution (CGD) companies to accelerate the rollout of domestic piped natural gas (PNG) connections and prioritise households in areas where pipeline infrastructure has already been laid.
In an advisory issued on March 14, the regulator said ongoing global geopolitical developments were disrupting energy supply chains and highlighted the need to ensure uninterrupted natural gas supply for households using PNG.
The advisory comes amid the ongoing LPG shortage in the country due the ongoing war in West Asia. The government has barred households with PNG connections from retaining or obtaining subsidised domestic LPG connections.
PNGRB advised CGD entities to expedite the conversion of households where pipeline infrastructure is already available and the consumer is willing to adopt PNG.
Providing PNG supply to such households would also ease pressure on the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supply chain and help diversify cooking fuel options, the advisory said.
Focus on faster connections
PNGRB said CGD companies should prioritise consumers who have already registered for PNG connections or whose residential societies and colonies are covered by existing pipeline networks.
The regulator asked companies to contact registered consumers and ensure that eligible households are connected at the earliest.
Entities have also been directed to accelerate the expansion of pipeline infrastructure to connect more households to PNG networks.
The regulator further advised companies to deploy additional manpower and equipment to expand the provision of PNG connections and encourage consumers to start using gas wherever connections have already been installed.
CGD firms have also been asked to shorten the timeline between the submission of applications and the commencement of gas supply to households, while clearly communicating expected timelines to prospective consumers.
These measures, PNGRB said, would help build consumer confidence and encourage wider adoption of piped gas for domestic cooking needs.
Current PNG usage and gas supply
India’s total natural gas consumption is around 189 million metric standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd), of which about 97.5 mmscmd is produced domestically.
Of the average 13.94 mmscmd of administered price mechanism (APM) gas allocated to the CGD sector, about 3.63 mmscmd is currently utilised in the domestic PNG segment, while the remaining gas is consumed in the compressed natural gas (CNG) segment used by vehicles.
As of January 31, 2026, CGD entities reported around 1.65 crore PNG connections across the country, out of which approximately 1.03 crore consumers were actively using natural gas.
PNGRB said expanding PNG coverage would help reduce dependence on LPG for cooking fuel and strengthen resilience in domestic energy supply.
