At Rs 99.99 per kg, Nagpur CNG costliest in India

NAGPUR: What was once promoted as an economical and eco-friendly fuel substitute to conventional automobile fuel, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) too has started pinching the pocket of consumers as its retail rate soared to Rs 99.99 per kg. The present rate in the city is perhaps the highest in the country, largely due to higher price of diesel and transportation costs from Gujarat.
Sitesh Rawell, director of Rawmatt, an authorised CNG refuelling station in the city, said that the price of CNG in Nagpur is the highest in the state and attributed this to price swings in the international market, rise in diesel prices, and 62% hike in natural gas price by the central government in September.

Currently, Rawmatt transports LNG from Dahej in Gujarat. One 17,500-litre LNG tanker costs around Rs 17.50 lakh and the recent spurt in diesel prices has significantly increased the transportation cost.
Earlier we used to pay 70,000 as transportation cost to bring LNG from Gujarat to Nagpur. Now, it costs around 1.7 lakh per trip," said Sitesh Rawell, director of Rawmatt, an authorised CNG refuelling station in the city. After transporting LNG, Rawmatt converts it to CNG and hence pushing up its cost by about 100 per kg.
Another factor for increasing CNG prices is that the government has stopped subsidy for LNG.
Till September, the price of CNG was 70 per kg, and slowly its price had been increasing. This means that there has been a near 40% rise in CNG prices in just two months. The difference between CNG prices in Nagpur and other metro cities is over Rs50. In Mumbai, it is available at 49.40 per kg and in New Delhi at 43.40 per kg on Tuesday.
Asia-delivered spot Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) prices have risen to $30 per mmBtu from under $2 mmBtu at the beginning of the pandemic last year. The international market rates have remained high possibly due to convergence of several factors, all happening at the same time - LNG plant outages, lower than average gas storage in Europe, demand upswing post Covid, and higher carbon prices, he explained.
According to Rawell, globally, the prices of LNG are at the highest-ever this time. High prices have even led to cut in import of LNG, which accounts for half of India's gas consumption. A scramble to replenish storage ahead of winter by big consumers like China and Japan has also pushed up prices, he said.
The city has only three CNG stations -- at Automotive Square, Wadi and Khapri. The price of CNG at all three stations is similar as all are run by the Rawmatt group.
Now, with Rs 99.99 per kg CNG price, vehicle users, especially autorickshaw drivers, have started feeling the pinch. Most autorickshaw drivers said the recent spurt in CNG prices has badly affected their monthly budget. The cost of LPG for vehicles is Rs 78.24 per kg, while one litre petrol costs over Rs 115.
"One reason we switched to CNG is the mileage. Against 22 km per litre petrol, CNG vehicle gives around 40 km per kg. So, slowly autorickshaw drivers are looking towards cheaper fuels," autorickshaw drivers told TOI.
The city has 23,663 petrol-fuelled autorickshaws, 753 diesel, 188 LPG, and 10 CNG-fuelled autorickshaws plying in city limits.