The Hindu : Shortfall in bulk LPG leads to refills delay

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 12, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

Shortfall in bulk LPG leads to refills delay

By N. Ravi Kumar

CHENNAI JAN. 11 . Thousands of households across the city are experiencing delay in getting refill supplies of cooking gas cylinders.

On an average, the supplies are being made after five days of booking. Oil industry sources attribute it to a shortfall in the availability of bulk LPG to bottling plants of the national oil companies. Confirming that the backlog of bookings was piling-up, they say many of the distributors have not received LPG `loads' continuously for a few days now.

Without discounting the possibility of panic bookings in the wake of the announcement by the Petroleum Minister about an impending price hike, sources say scenes of frayed tempers and heated arguments are becoming increasingly common at many LPG agencies.

The delay and the imminent price hike, however, are not the only aspects of concern to cooking gas users as the 21-day restriction on supply of refills is all set to be reintroduced by the oil industry. According to the norm, withdrawn a few months ago, refill cylinder should be supplied to households only 21 days after the previous supply. The move comes at a time of the year when demand for cooking gas is comparatively high.

The Indane Area (Chennai) office had already advised its distributors to maintain a time gap of 21 days between refills to the consumers. The circular, which also advises them to suspend release of double bottle connections (second cylinders) for new connections, says both the measures are temporary. Bharatgas distributors have also been given similar advice orally and the circular is expected soon, say oil industry sources.

In another circular, issued on January 6, the Indane Area office has instructed its distributors to stop supply of domestic (14.2 kg) cylinders to `non-domestic (exempt)' category of customers, which includes institutions run on non-profit basis like government hospitals, hostels, old age homes and orphanages.

In other words, only commercial cylinders (19 kg) that cost Rs. 685.99 — should be supplied to the exempt category customers. The move is bound to put many of the non-profit institutions under considerable financial pressure.

Without prescribing a cut-off date, the circular says "all your exempted category customers should be converted to 19-kg with immediate effect, by withdrawing the domestic cylinders", available with them. The deposit for each 19-kg cylinder is Rs. 1, 500, it says.

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