Punjab's Commercial units switch to Piped Natural Gas

Tribune News Service

Vijay C Roy

Chandigarh, November 17

From bakery to steel manufacturing, industry in Punjab is adopting Piped Natural Gas (PNG) as a fuel, replacing diesel, coal and furnace oil. Compared to other alternatives, PNG is pollution-free and no space is required for its storage.

According to estimates, over 200 units, including manufacturing and commercial establishment, have already switched to PNG. Some of the major units which have already shifted to PNG include Auto International, TK Steels, Bonn Nutrient (P) Ltd, SML Isuzu and Udey Krafts.

Cleaner fuel

We started using PNG around 4-5 months back. The fuel is not only environmentally friendly, but it also helped in improving product quality in our bakery. —Parveen Garg, CEO, Bonn Nutrient (P) ltd

“We started using PNG around 4-5 months back. The fuel is not only environmentally friendly, but it also helped in improving product quality in our bakery,” said Parveen Garg, CEO, Ludhiana-based Bonn Nutrient (P) Ltd,

Echoing similar sentiments, Rajan Mittal, managing director, Auto International (Kohara), said, “The surface finish of the products is better when we use PNG compared to furnace oil. We do not need storage space for the fuel. There is no need for fuel inventory management as we don’t need to monitor the fuel stock and material handling. Above all it makes work place better for employees.”

Ludhiana and Jalandhar are twin cities of Punjab and are major industrial and commercial hubs with very high-volume potential for PNG. Despite benefits, the adoption rate among the commercial and industrial units is low. “Due to low awareness and low acceptability, people are somehow reluctant to adopt PNG as a fuel. We are not only working on increasing the awareness among industry, but also strengthening our network,” said Hardip Rai, founder & chief operating officer, Think Gas, who has been given mandate to set up CNG stations and PNG network in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Barnala, Moga, Kapurthala, & SBS Nagar in Punjab.

However, industrialists are of the view that rising PNG prices amid Russia-Ukraine war and VAT on PNG are acting as a deterrent and are the main reasons behind slow adoption.

“In the steel industry, fuel cost is around 33 per cent of the total input cost. In such a scenario the rising PNG price is hitting our bottom lines. This is why many industries are reluctant to adopt PNG as a fuel. Secondly, there is a three per cent VAT on PNG, which the industry can’t claim even as an input cost,” said Lokesh Jain, partner, Paharuwal-based TK Steels who shifted from coal to PNG.

Some units have cited high cost of PNG as the reason for not shifting to the clean energy. “The higher taxes defeat the very purpose of the government to promote environment-friendly fuel,” industry representatives added.

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