Coming soon: piped gas for Guwahati homes
Assam is the birthplace of oil and gas exploration in India.
However, the state capital Guwahati has yet to receive piped gas. That should change by the middle of next year (2024) after gas retailer Purba Bharati Gas (PBGPL), incorporated on November 19 (2019), begins gas supplies in the city of approximately 1m inhabitants.
A joint venture of Assam Gas (AGCL), Oil India and GAIL Gas, PBGPL holds PNGRB authorisation to lay, build, operate and expand CGD projects in Silchar, Hailakandi, Kamrup and Kamrup Metropolitan in Assam. Guwahati lies in the Kamrup Metropolitan area.
"We can supply the first consumers probably next year, but only when GAIL completes the trunk (gas) pipeline from Barauni to Guwahati," says a PBGPL source. GAIL initially targeted to complete its pipeline by September (2023), later extended to December (2023).
However, PBGPL believes GAIL will complete the pipeline by March 2024. PBGPL, too, is facing challenges setting up its gas pipeline network because of Guwahati's congested city roads and lanes in areas such as Narangi, Gitanagar or Beltola.
And also because of a general lack of awareness about piped gas benefits. "In the first year, we expect just 2000 consumers, which we hope to increase to 5000 and more later," we hear.
Only a few areas in Assam have piped gas connections, namely Dibrugarh and Sonari, supplied by rival Assam Gas; PBGPL hopes to bring piped gas to Guwahati and Silchar. "People are wary and ask many questions about safety, gas pricing and refundable deposits," adds our source.
"We tell them it will be cheaper than LPG cylinders and more convenient." An extreme example of the resistance to piped gas is captured in an anecdote by a representative of Delhi-based contractor Vichitra Constructions, which is laying pipelines in Guwahati.
When he approached a potential customer twice, the customer threatened him. "He threatened to break my bones," recalls the representative.
"I said, we are not here to cheat you; we are just doing our work." Vichitra has completed laying the first 50-km of its planned 200-km of pipeline.