Govt steps on gas: 24-hour delivery of LPG could soon be reality

New interoperable system to unify LPG delivery across firms

Long waiting queues and frustrating delays in cooking gas deliveries could soon become a thing of the past, with the government on Monday proposing guaranteed 24-hour delivery of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) refills for consumers.

 

Under the new framework proposed by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), if a consumer’s primary distributor is unable to deliver an LPG cylinder within 24 hours of booking, the nearest distributor — regardless of the company — would complete the delivery as part of a “cross-public sector undertaking service mechanism”.

 

This will be the first time in the country that consumers can switch between companies for LPG cylinder delivery. “This revolutionary approach transforms three separate distribution silos into one unified national LPG service system,” PNGRB said in a statement.

 

The LPG Interoperable Service Delivery Framework will provide a 24-hour delivery guarantee under a strict timeline, replacing the current 48-hour norm, along with automatic cross-company service activation after 24 hours.

 

India has 330 million LPG connections. While Indian Oil Corporation markets domestic LPG cylinders under the Indane brand, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum sell cooking gas as Bharatgas and HPGas, respectively. Together, the three companies supply 88 per cent of domestic LPG through their network of 25,566 distributors.

 

A high-level expert committee constituted by the regulator found that 1.7 million LPG-related complaints are registered annually, with delivery delays dominating grievances. Around half of all complaints recorded by oil-marketing companies (OMCs) relate to refill delivery issues, as consumers often wait days — or even weeks — beyond the stipulated 48-hour delivery norm.

 

Under the new system, OMCs would assume collective accountability to deliver LPG cylinders on time. The regulator has proposed a phased rollout of the framework, beginning with pilot programmes in select urban and rural areas to test coordination systems and inter-company processes.

 

Ahead of the rollout, PNGRB on Monday launched a public consultation, inviting stakeholders to provide feedback on operational mechanisms, technology integration, regulatory provisions, and implementation strategies. 

a