Mahanagar Gas hikes CNG price by ₹2/kg, PNG by ₹1 amid West Asia crisis

Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL) has raised the price of compressed natural gas (CNG) by ₹2 per kg and domestic piped natural gas (PNG) by ₹1 per standard cubic metre (SCM), citing higher input costs amid the ongoing crisis in West Asia.

The revised CNG price will be ₹88 per kg in and around Mumbai, effective from midnight on September 1, the city gas distributor said in a statement.

"In view of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, which has resulted in a significant increase in input gas prices linked to international indices, MGL has announced a revision in the prices of CNG," it said.

MGL said demand for CNG has been rising and a major portion of the input gas for the CNG segment is being met through imported spot regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG), where prices are higher.

The company said the CNG price increase would only partially offset the rise in input gas costs while helping ensure continued supply to consumers.

Around 13 lakh CNG vehicles across Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Latur and Dharashiv in Maharashtra, as well as Chitradurga and Davangere in Karnataka, depend on MGL's supply network.

The same rise in input costs has resulted in a ₹1 per SCM increase for domestic PNG consumers.

MGL supplies PNG to around 30 lakh domestic consumers.

The move comes days after Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL), which supplies CNG in Delhi and adjoining areas, raised its CNG price by ₹3.89 per kg to ₹86.98 per kg, effective August 29.

IGL had also cited a similar reason, saying the renewed West Asia crisis had affected LNG cargo movements through the Strait of Hormuz.

The latest increase took the cumulative rise in Delhi CNG prices this year to nearly ₹10 per kg. Delhi CNG was priced at ₹77.09 per kg at the beginning of the year and stood at ₹83.09 per kg before the latest hike.

CNG prices were also raised in adjoining cities, with the fuel now costing ₹95.59 per kg in Noida and Ghaziabad and ₹92.01 per kg in Gurugram.

Domestic PNG prices in Delhi, however, remain unchanged at ₹49.59 per SCM.

IGL said the increase in retail CNG prices has been much lower than the rise in international gas benchmarks.

IGL operates city gas distribution networks across Delhi and several cities in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan, besides parts of Karnataka. It has more than 30,000 km of pipeline network and over 1,000 CNG stations, supplying fuel to more than 21 lakh CNG vehicles and PNG to nearly 35 lakh households.