New Delhi: Marking the 13th increase in the price of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in the national capital in just over two months, CNG price was hiked by Rs 2 per kg on Saturday. CNG in the national capital territory of Delhi now costs Rs 75.61 per kg, up from Rs 73.61 per kg, according to a notification released by Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL), the company which retails CNG and piped cooking gas in the national capital and adjoining cities.
This is the 13th increase in CNG price since March 7.
In all, the CNG price has risen by Rs 19.60 per kg during this period. In the last one year, prices have increased by Rs 32.21 per kg or 60 percent, according to the data compiled by PTI. However, the rates of piped gas to household kitchens, called piped natural gas (PNG), remained unchanged at Rs 45.86 per scm.
City gas distributors have been periodically raising prices since October last year, when domestic as well as international gas prices started to climb as economies around the world recovered from the pandemic-induced slowdown.
IGL Managing Director Sanjay Kumar said the prices are likely to remain elevated in the near future due to high international prices of natural gas. CNG prices rose by Rs 8.74 per kg in the last three months of 2021, and from January, there was a steady increase of about 50 paise a kg almost every week.
The rates have gone up after the government more than doubled the price of natural gas produced locally to USD 6.1 per million British thermal unit from April 1. With domestically produced gas not sufficient to meet city gas demand, imported fuel (LNG) is being used. LNG in the spot or current market costs USD 18-20 per mmBtu.
Natural gas when compressed becomes CNG for use as fuel in automobiles. The same gas is piped to household kitchens and industries for cooking and other purposes. Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) has priced Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) at Rs 76 per kg in Mumbai.
Prices vary from city to city, depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT. The increase in CNG prices follows a hike of Rs 10 per litre in petrol and diesel prices in 16 days and an increase of Rs 103.50 per cylinder in the cooking gas LPG rates.
(With agency inputs)
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