Oil marketing companies are not yet issuing new LPG connections to domestic consumers

Distributors say they receive customers asking for new LPG connections almost every day. | Photo credit: R. RAGU

Despite the normalization of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) supply to both domestic and commercial customers, distributors said that oil marketing companies (OMCs) are yet to issue new domestic connections.

People who have been waiting since the West Asian conflict began in March said they were angry.

“We got married in February and I brought my wife Radha to Chennai in March. We coped with the induction cooker given to us by our landlord. It is slow and not all utensils can be used with an induction cooker. We rarely use the domestic gas cooker. The gas agency suggested we buy a small cylinder but it is too expensive for us,” said Uthan.raj, who works in a shop.

Another newlywed couple who got married in May said they had applied for a new LPG connection but were tired of asking the agency when they would get the connection. “My wife is not used to cooking on an induction stove. It runs on electricity and she is nervous about it. In that case, I have to be with her, but I have to go to work. So at the moment we make do with 5 kg bottles and order food. It will be great if the government considers our requests for new connections soon,” said the husband.

Another consumer in south Chennai said that for the past few years they have been managing the pressure cylinders supplied by the gas delivery boys. When she tried to get a connection, she was told to get a 5kg connection. “Not all agencies provide such connections. It took some pressure to get it done. I hope when the situation normalizes, I can convert it to a domestic connection with a double bottle,” she said.

Distributors reported that their agencies receive visitors asking for new connections almost every day. “We are unable to secure new connections. We have only recorded their names and phone numbers with a promise to release the bottles as soon as possible,” said the distributor.

Another distributor said that OMC officials were pressuring them to sell stoves and hoses even though no new connections had been issued. “If new connections are released, we can sell gas stoves. But now we can’t simply tell consumers to buy stoves for no reason. With the orange hose, it’s a completely different story. Some distributors have thousands of hoses. It takes them at least two years to sell 4,000 hoses. So we would give consumers hoses that have a short life,” he added.

Published – 17 Jul 2026 0:43 IST