Pune Natural Gas set to provide PNG & CNG in Pune District

Pune, August 30, 2019: Mahesh Gas Limited, an associate company of the Rs.21,000 crore Torrent Group, under the brand name Pune Natural Gas is set to provide Piped Natural Gas (PNG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in Pune District, the formal launch for which was announced today. It will provide natural gas to all Industrial, Commercial and Residential Customers in Pune District excluding areas already authorised to Maharashtra Natural Gas Limited (MNGL).

The Area authorised to Pune Natural Gas includes Ranjangaon, Baramati, Kurkumbh, Indapur, Pirangut, Wagholi, Saswad, Sanaswadi, Khed city, Rajgurunagar, Lonavala, Talegaon Phase II, Shirur, Shikrapur, Jejuri and other Talukas of Pune District covering around 15,000 sq km.

The Company has started setting up CNG stations and necessary infrastructure for PNG. 3 CNG stations at Ranjangaon, Lonikand & Karla have been made operational and 3 more CNG stations at Baramati, Shivane and Pune-Bangalore Highway are likely to be set-up within next 3 months. As part of its Phase I (by 31st March 2021) network rollout plan, the company intends to a) set-up over 50 CNG stations, which will ensure wide-spread availability of CNG in Pune district, b) release over 100,000 residential PNG connections, c) supply natural gas to industries in Industrial areas of Pune District and d) lay 1,800 inch kms of Gas Pipeline network. In the initial phase, the Company plans to serve residential PNG consumers of Wagholi, Lonikand, Shikrapur, Ranjangaon, Shirur, Rajgurunagar and Baramati. Work has already been initiated to lay over 1,800 inch kms of pipeline to cater to consumers in all the key residential, industrial and commercial areas of the geography. With this launch, the consumers of entire Pune District will be able to enjoy the benefits of environment friendly and economical fuel – Natural Gas, which was till now limited only to the people residing in Pune city.

Commenting on the formal launch of CGD (City Gas Distribution) network in Pune District, Deepak Dalal, Director, Torrent Gas Limited said, “Globally, natural gas contributes approximately 24% to the primary energy mix. However, natural gas has a nominal share of 6% in India’s primary energy mix. Given the increasing concern for climate change, environmentally clean fuels such as Natural Gas are expected to play a dominant role in India's economic growth in the coming years. The Government of India aims to expand the reach of City Gas Distribution from 78 to 250 cities by 2020 and also has set a target of taking the share of natural gas in the energy mix of India to 15% by 2025. We intend to make a significant contribution in this endeavour by building world-class CGD networks across the 32 Districts in 7 States; where we have been authorized. We are delighted to bring PNG and CNG to the citizens of Pune District and sincerely intend to provide our valued customers great service at a reasonable price.”

Speaking on the occasion, Shridhar Tambraparni, Executive Director, Mahesh Gas Limited said, “PNG and CNG are one of the cleanest fuels available and will help in meeting the Country’s increasing energy needs. Apart from being environment-friendly, PNG and CNG have many advantages over other fuels. While PNG offers uninterrupted supply, convenience and safety, CNG offers price advantage, better fuel efficiency, lower maintenance costs and thereby substantial financial savings for families. We are sure that customers will see visible advantages of PNG and CNG once they adopt these choices.”

It may be highlighted that consumers in big cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune (city), Ahmedabad, Surat, etc. have already switched to using natural gas in a big way.