he government on Monday cut the minimum LPG refill booking interval for rural households to 25 days from 45 days, bringing it on a par with urban consumers, as cooking gas supplies improved and refill backlogs declined significantly after months of disruptions triggered by the West Asia conflict.
The petroleum ministry has directed state-run oil marketing companies Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation to implement the revised 25-day interval with immediate effect. The earlier differentiated booking cycle was introduced as a temporary demand-management measure when the conflict strained LPG availability.
Union minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Suresh Gopi said supply pressures following the outbreak of the West Asia conflict had prompted the government to prescribe a 25-day refill interval in urban areas and 45 days in rural areas.
“However, in view of the current LPG supply situation improving and the significant reduction in refill backlog, the central government has relaxed this restriction. Now, all domestic LPG consumers, regardless of urban or rural, can book refills at an interval of 25 days,” Gopi said in a Facebook post.
The booking restrictions were part of a wider set of measures introduced to protect household LPG supplies during the crisis. The government had increased refinery production of LPG, prioritised domestic consumers and restricted supplies to some commercial and industrial users. The booking interval in urban areas had also been increased from 21 days to 25 days, while rural consumers were allowed refills after up to 45 days.
As the supply situation improved, the government began unwinding some of the emergency measures in June. On June 25, it restored non-domestic packed LPG supplies to pre-crisis levels and removed sectoral restrictions imposed on commercial and industrial consumers. Bulk LPG supplies, which had been suspended at the onset of the crisis, were restored to 50% of pre-crisis consumption levels.
The relaxation followed an improvement in both domestic production and imported LPG availability. During the crisis, the government had directed C3-C4 streams to be used for LPG production, diverting them from petrochemical and other downstream uses to augment domestic supplies.
Monday’s decision removes the remaining differential in refill-booking timelines between rural and urban domestic LPG consumers.