Chief Minister opens city’s first batch of compressed natural gas pumps
The fuel will be priced at ₹51.35 per kg
Chief minister M.K. Stalin on Tuesday inaugurated 25 compressed natural gas (CNG) pumps, owned by Torrent Gas, in the city and Tiruvallur.
He opened the facilities, the first such in the State capital, via video conferencing in the presence of Minister of Industries Thangam Thennarasu and officials. He also opened their city gate station, from where gas would be supplied via pipelines to homes, industries and other commercial customers.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Stalin said, “Access to CNG, a cheaper and cleaner alternative to petrol and diesel, has been a felt need of the people of Tamil Nadu. Widespread availability of CNG and the significant savings it will bring will encourage consumers to adopt it, thereby having a positive impact on the environment. The domestic, commercial and industrial use of natural gas will spur further industrial development in the State.”
Tamil Nadu was the last State to get natural gas in the country. Though Indian Oil Corporation’s liquid natural gas terminal was inaugurated at Ennore in March 2019 and is in use by industrial customers in Manali, providers have been opening CNG outlets in a phased manner.
The company has tied up with State-run oil marketing companies for space in their fuel outlets, where separate tanks have been created for CNG pumps. Nagapattinam and Ramanathapuram already have CNG outlets.
The outlets were getting gas supply from the Indian Oil Corporation.
Addressing reporters at an online press conference, Jinal Mehta, director, Torrent Gas, said CNG would be sold in the city at ₹51.35 per kg, which when compared with other fuel prices, would allow for a saving of 66% for petrol users, 61% for diesel users and 42% for LPG users. This is the second lowest price in the country.
The company has set a target to open 50 CNG stations by September 2021 and 100 by June 2022 in the State. It also has plans to commence providing domestic connections to households in six to eight months, and would be covering around 80,000 houses initially.
“In the city, we have commenced work on laying pipelines that will run to a length of 650 metre. The company is already in talks with prospective consumers, industries and other commercial establishments,” Mr. Mehta said.
A few days ago, Mr. Stalin inaugurated the Atlantic Gulf and Pacific (AG&P) Pratham’s CNG outlet at Meenambakkam, under the Kancheepuram geographic area.
He also laid the foundation stone for their second city gate and mother station in the State at Vallam, Sriperumbudur.
