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Consumers in the future should have the opportunity to buy any fuel from any retail outlet, according to Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan.
“All city gas distribution (CGD) agencies should grow into comprehensive energy retailers,” he said. Pradhan was speaking at a ceremony to dedicate 42 compressed natural gas (CNG) stations and three City Gate Stations of Torrent Gas to the service of the community.
Currently, Torrent Gas has the authorisation to lay city gas distribution (CGD) network in 32 districts across seven States and one Union Territory. These 42 CNG stations are located across various states, including 14 in Uttar Pradesh, eight in Maharashtra, six in Gujarat, four in Punjab and five each in Telangana and Rajasthan. The City Gate Stations include one each in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab.
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“Also, welcome Torrent’s announcement of further investments of ₹8,000 crore in the expansion of city gas distribution networks in India and its keenness to invest in futuristic mobility solutions, like compressed bio gas, liquified natural gas (LNG) and energy retailing,” Pradhan added.
Commenting on the future of energy retailing, Pradhan said that consumers should be able to buy any type of fuel from retail outlets — be it petrol, diesel, CNG, LNG or electric charging. He also said that the Centre wants to supply fuel through mobile dispensers so that consumers can get fuel at their doorsteps, as per their convenience.
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Pradhan added that a strategy is being worked upon to expand battery swapping facilities also.
An official statement said that investment of about $60 billion — that’s over ₹4-lakh crore — is being made in gas infrastructure, which includes laying of pipelines, terminals, gas fields.
“The number of CNG stations has increased to more than double in the country — from 938 CNG station in year 2014 to around 2,300 CNG stations in 2020. Together with the existing CNG stations and the ones expected under the ninth and 10th CGD bid rounds, India is looking at a robust infrastructure of about 10,000 CNG stations in the coming years,” the statement added.
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