CNG, PNG prices hiked in Delhi, NCR

NEW DELHI: Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) on Saturday raised CNG and PNG prices as suppliers increased natural gas costs due to reduction of input tax credit to them.
CNG price would go up by Rs 1.85/kg in Delhi and Rs 2.15 per kg in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad. PNG price would rise by Rs 1.05 per unit (scm) to Rs 24.05. In Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad the increase PNG would become costlier by Rs 1.21 at Rs 25.56 per unit.
The new rates would be effective from the intervening midnight of Saturday and Sunday.
IGL will continue to offer a discount of Rs 1.50/kg on CNG during off-peak hours of 12.30 and 5.30am at select outlets.
A company spokesman said the increase is equivalent to the rise in gas costs. Natural gas has become costlier as the suppliers have passed on the entire impact of reduction in input tax credit on inter-state trade.
However, this increase would not have a major impact on the per km running cost of vehicles. For autos, the increase would be 5 paisa/km, for taxi it would be 9 paisa/km and in case of buses, the increase would be 53 paise/km, which translates to just around one paisa per passenger/km, IGL said.
With the revised price, CNG would still offer nearly 60% savings towards the running cost when compared to petrol driven vehicles at the current level of prices. When compared to diesel driven vehicles, the economics in favour of CNG at revised price would be over 31%.
IGL is currently catering to over 9,50,000 CNG vehicles in the capital, which include nearly 5,50,000 private cars. IGL is augmenting its CNG refueling infrastructure to meet the rapidly growing demand as a result of increased number of vehicles switching to CNG mode.