Rising tensions in West Asia and a surge in global crude oil prices have begun to raise alarms about the availability of cooking gas in several states in India. Long queues in LPG agencies, complaints from restaurants, and precautionary measures taken by the government have all contributed to growing worries among users. However, concerned authorities continue to allay fears by claiming that the situation is well in hand and there is no shortage of LPG for domestic consumption at present, while measures are being taken to tighten LPG supplies for domestic consumption.
Today, the Union government invoked the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, a law reserved for genuine supply emergencies, to protect the uninterrupted availability of domestic cooking gas across the country. The trigger is the ongoing conflict in West Asia, which has disrupted oil and gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy corridors. In plain terms, the war has made it harder for India to import the gas it needs, and the government is now stepping in to manage whatever is available as carefully as possible.
A government notification, meanwhile, said that domestically produced natural gas will now be supplied on a priority basis to units that use it to produce LPG. Until now, compressed natural gas (CNG) and piped cooking gas have been the two priority sectors to receive domestic natural gas as their raw material.
With the gazette notification passed late Monday night, LPG has also been put on the priority list of recipients of natural gas.
