NOIDA: There has been a significant rise in demand for piped natural gas (PNG) connections in NCR since the beginning of March, amid reports of a crisis in LPG cylinder availability caused by supply chain disruptions linked to escalating US-Iran tensions.In Noida, more than 4,000 applications have been received since March 1, while Ghaziabad has recorded 5,000, with officials linking the spike to supply constraints and uncertainty surrounding LPG availability.Typically, Ghaziabad receives around 70-80 applications in a day, district supply officer Amit Tiwari said. “This number has now increased to over 200 applications in a day. The number of applications for PNG connections has gone up since March 4. We are processing them at the earliest,” he said.In Delhi, the IGL Connect app has recorded more than 22,000 new registrations in the first 15 days of March. This marks a 14% increase in the registration rate compared to Feb, indicating consumer interest.Meanwhile, district officials said over 40,000 domestic LPG cylinders are being delivered in both Noida and Ghaziabad daily to meet demand. This is double the number of cylinders delivered before the West Asia conflict.Noida has around 10 lakh LPG consumers, Ghaziabad has approximately 12 lakh.To encourage more commercial consumers to shift from LPG to PNG, the petroleum ministry has recently issued an order allowing a unit that has applied for PNG connections to retain 50% of their LPG cylinder quota until a new PNG connection is installed.“The ministry of petroleum and natural gas has approved an additional 20% commercial LPG quota, bringing total allocations to 50% for states and promoting PNG adoption to relieve sector shortages. Priority is given to restaurants, hotels, and industrial canteens that register for PNG connections,” Noida district supply officer Smriti Gautam said.DM Medha Roopam said the administration would assist commercial units in securing approvals and transitioni to PNG connections.Despite the incentive, uptake among commercial users has remained limited.Officials said since March 1, the district supply department has received only 164 such applications in Noida and 100 in Ghaziabad. Currently, the two districts cumulatively have around 1,000 commercial PNG connections each.Industry representatives, however, pointed to procedural hurdles. Varun Khera, president of the National Restaurant Association of India’s Noida chapter, said a large number of eateries still depend on LPG cylinders.“For commercial establishments such as restaurants and canteens, local municipal approvals or building plan clearances may be necessary before applying for PNG connections. We hope the administration can help facilitate this transition at the earliest, as restaurants are struggling to stay afloat during the LPG cylinder crisis,” Khera said.
