In a significant step aimed at improving the selection of consumers and service standards, the Council for oil and natural gas regulation (PNGRB) is working on LPG interoperability, which allows gas to switch between LPG suppliers – a system similar to the portability of the mobile number in the telecommunications sector.
This could mean that a household using Indan gas could smoothly switch to Bharat or HP gas in the near future without having to give up its current connection.
PNGRB has now invited public comments on this proposal, and the introduction was expected to be framed by the final rules.
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Why is LPG portability introduced?
According to PNGRB, while India has reached almost universal LPG households with more than 32 active Crore connections, consumer complaints remain high.
“The persistent consumer complaint remains over 17 lakhs annually,” the Board of Directors said in its announcement.
Many complaints relate to the delay of supplies and disruption of services, while some areas face long waiting times to replenish the cylinder.
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PNGRB stressed that consumers often remain without an alternative when their local distributor faces operating problems, leading to significant problems.
“There may be other reasons and the consumer must have the freedom of choice for LPG Company/Dealer, especially if the price of the cylinder is the same,” the regulator said.
What was the former LPG portability scheme?
The LPG transcriptionability concept is not entirely new.
In October 2013, the then UPA government launched a pilot project in 24 districts in 13 countries and later expanded it to a nationwide level in January 2014.
However, this earlier scheme allowed the seller’s portability only in the same company.
Indane Gas Customer could switch to another Indane dealer, but not to Bharat or HP gas gas.
This restriction was caused by laws that LPG bottles could only be supplemented by the company that issued them.
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How will the new LPG intermediate portability work work?
The aim of the proposed framework is to remove this limitation, which allows consumers to switch between different marketing companies (OMC).
“Strengthen the continuity of the LPG offer and protect consumers’ confidence, PNGRB calls on the opinions and proposals of consumers, distributors, civil society organization and other parties on measures that could facilitate timely access to the content,” the council said.
The regulator examines ways to allow consumer to receive LPG contents from the nearest available distributor, regardless of society, especially when disturbing services or at the time of demand.
If your local Indian distributor is stored, you can temporarily get supplemented from Bharat or HP gas gas.
If you are dissatisfied with the service, you can permanently migrate to another company without changing your equipment.
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Why is this important for consumers?
The recent increase in complaints about services emphasized the need for continuity system.
“Recent reports from various regions have emphasized a number of cases of disturbance of the offer and extended delays in the delivery of LPG, in some cases lasting up to several weeks,” PNGRB said.
Such problems were adversely affected by households and commercial equipment, especially if there are few distributors.
- Increase the competition between suppliers
- Reduce waiting time for filling
- To improve the responsibility and quality of services
Current user Systemfuture Systemindian – Indane Dealerindane only user
📈 Key numbers
- 32 crore LPG connection in India
- 17 Lakh+ complaints per year
- The earlier portability system covered 480 districts
- Average 4 distributors per cluster in 2014
What happens next?
PNGRB opened the floor for public feedback and allowed consumers, groups of civil society and other participating parties to submit proposals by mid -October.
Once the comments are checked:
The Council will propose final rules and instructions.
A nationwide introduction date will be announced.
(Tagstotranslate) LPG Interoperability Framework (T) PNGRB (T) LPG Portability (T) Consumer selection
