'Smart LPG' for households: Know these 9 important things
A pilot project is running in five cities and soon it would be available in the entire country
Indian Oil, the country’s largest oil marketing company, is coming up with a type of LPG cylinder that will allow you to check the quantity of fuel you have consumed and how much is left. This cylinder might turn into a very popular one, thinks IOC officials. Like the fuel meter of a car, it would allow you to monitor the use of fuel, the price of which is rising fast. You can optimise your usage with these cylinders. This cylinder is known as a composite cylinder. It is made up of three layers. It consists of a blow-moulded high-density polyethylene (HDPE) inner liner, a polymer-wrapped fibre glass composite layer, and an HDPE outer jacket. Through the fibre glass layer one can track the usage of the fuel. These would be lightweight, free from rust and better looking.
Points to remember
The weight of a composite cylinder is a fraction of its steel counterpart. An empty steel cylinder is about 15 kg. The weight of the empty composite cylinder would be about 6-7 kg.
This composite cylinder has a translucent that would help customers to check the level of fuel consumed. This would also help consumers to plan their next refill better.
The new cylinder is available in 5 kg and 10 kg for domestic purpose. Currently, IOC has a 5 kg variant (chhotu cylinder) but there is no equivalent of a 10 kg cylinder. Bharat petroleum and Hindustan petroleum don’t offer this facility.
No government subsidy is available for this smart, composite cylinder. If you opt for this cylinder you have to forgo the government subsidy, which is Rs 19.57 currently per cylinder.
They are rust-free, and do not corrode. This reduces the chances of leaving stains and marks on the floor. They are aesthetically designed which makes them visually appealing and ideal for modern kitchens.
Presently, the composite cylinders are available at select distributors in Delhi, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Faridabad and Ludhiana. After a successful pilot run, these smart cylinders will be available across the country.
Both the 10 kg and 5-kg variants are marketed under the domestic non-subsidised category. The 5-kg cylinder is available freely through various points of sale.
The security deposit for domestic non-subsidised category is Rs 3,350 for the 10-kg variant and Rs 2,150 for the 5-kg variant.
Indane customers can replace their existing steel cylinders with the smart composite cylinder by paying the difference in security deposit to the distributor. The composite cylinder will be delivered to your home just like the existing gas cylinder through distributors.
LPG connection
Until March 2021, there were 28.5 crore LPG connections in the country. Of these, about 83 lakh connections were given under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) since its launch on May 1, 2016.
Out of these 28.5 crore LPG connections IOC have a market share of almost 86%.
Within a five-year span, the government issued 83 lakh gas connections to the poorer section of the society.