IGL plans to invest Rs 600 cr for CNG, PNG expansion in Haryana

Indraprastha Gas Ltd will invest Rs 600 crore this fiscal to expand operations, including starting CNG and piped cooking gas retailing in three cities of Haryana.

IGL, the sole supplier of CNG to automobiles and piped natural gas (PNG) to households in the national capital and adjoining cities of Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad, is "all set to expand its footprints in Haryana through setting up city gas distribution (CGD) networks", a company statement said.

The firm won CGD licence for Karnal district in Haryana recently, IGL Chairman S Ramesh told shareholders during his AGM speech, according to the statement.

The company has already started supply of gas in Rewari and secured permission from the Haryana government to lay down the CGD network in parts of Gurugram, formerly known as Gurgaon.

"IGL has drawn out plans to expand its area of operations by investing Rs 600 crore in 2017-18," he said.

The government's push for cleaner fuel is expected to see more CNG-run vehicles on the street.

After the successful pilot project for CNG-based two- wheelers, Ramesh said, the company is looking to start commercial implementation soon.

IGL, he added, is looking to consolidate its presence in existing locations as well as scale up to new geographical areas -- both by bidding for licences and acquiring stake in existing CGD companies.

The company added 81 new CNG stations in 2016-17 to take the total to 421, which helped the company enhance its total installed compression capacity to 71 lakh kg per day.

According to Ramesh, a record 1,05,000 new domestic PNG customers were added by IGL in 2016-17.

The company achieved growth of 8 per cent in industrial gas supply and 6 per cent in the commercial sector in spite of stiff competition from alternative fuels like furnace oil and diesel whose prices had come down due to weakness in crude.

In line with the vision of the government to undertake expansion of PNG in mission mode, IGL is chalking out aggressive plans to offer a number of PNG domestic connections by increasing its penetration in existing areas and entering newer areas of Delhi and adjoining cities through various promotional campaigns.

On the customer-centric approach adopted by IGL, Ramesh said the company is making efforts to upgrade its services by leveraging information technology in all its customer operations.

The redressal system has been further strengthened and is monitored through the CRM system, which has resulted in a significant reduction of customer complaints.

The shareholders approved a final dividend of 50 per cent in the AGM, in addition to 35 per cent interim dividend already declared and paid as recommended by the board, the statement added.