To speed up the slow pace of expansion of the Piped Natural Gas (PNG) network in the city, GAIL Gas Limited tried out a new payment strategy and a registration fee waiver. The company now says it paid off, attracting over 21,000 new customer registrations since October 2019.
A GAIL spokesperson told DH that the upfront fee of Rs 5,800 for new connections was found to be a bit hefty for many. To address this, the company introduced three payment options on October 2, 2019. This, the spokesperson said, did the trick. “It has gone really well with the people.”
The first option offered customers a reduction of Rs 1,000 in the security deposit. To get the connection, customers were required to pay Rs 4,000 as a Refundable Connection Deposit before the PNG supply begins.
The second option limits the payment of the connection security deposit to Equal Daily Instalment (EDI) of Rs 5 per day. This refundable amount will be collected for 1,000 days, without any security deposit upfront.
In the third option, a rupee is charged daily as rental along with the invoice. This is non-refundable. “In all the options, the registration fee of Rs 300 is not applicable and the Rs 500 Refundable Payment Security Deposit against the gas consumption will be charged."
To provide the bouquet of PNG services through the Bangalore One/Karnataka One platform, GAIL Gas Bengaluru has entered into an agreement with the state government's Electronic Delivery of Citizen services (EDCS).
Although GAIL Gas had won the authorisation to implement the City Gas Distribution (CGD) project in Bengaluru urban and rural districts in 2015, the pipe-laying work has been slow due to multiple factors. Over the last five years, GAIL has commenced PNG supply to about 18,500 households.
Currently, PNG is supplied to HSR, including Iblur, Singasandra, Mangamapalaya, Bellandur, Marathahalli, Whitefield, Garudacharpalaya, Kadugodi, Hagadur, Doddanekundi, Sanjaynagar, Dollars Colony, Nagawara, Thanisandra, Byatarayanapura, Peenya, Hoskote, Electronic city, Pipeline Road–HMT ward, CQAE–Yeshwantpur, Central Manufacturing Technology Institute (CMTI), Tumakuru Main Road, Yeshwantpur Industrial Area, BEL Colony, BHEL, Malleswaram, Bommasandra, Jigani, Veerasandra, RWF West, Yelahanka, Jindal Nature Cure, Jal Factory & Colony, Tumakuru Main Road.