NEW DELHI: The Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA), a government advisory body under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has developed a new gas stove for domestic Piped Natural Gas (PNG) consumers. The new gas stove will reduce the consumption of domestic piped gas and bring down the monthly bills by up to 25 per cent.
The PCRA has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Ministry of Power, to distribute energy-efficient PNG-based cooking stoves to consumers under the 'Energy Efficient PNG Cook Stove' (EEPS) programme.In the first phase, EESL will distribute 10 lakh gas stoves across the nation.
According to the MoU, EESL will make the PNG gas stove available to customers at an affordable cost. Officials say that in absence of a PNG-specific gas stove, the consumer started using gas stoves meant for the LPG cylinders.
Due to this, the thermal efficiency of PNG reduces to 40 per cent. "This leads to higher consumption of gas. Tampering with an ISI standard stove also compromises on its safety," said an official.
The association said that as per an estimate if all existing PNG consumers shift to the new gas stove, it will annually save the piped natural gas worth Rs 3901 crore. An ordinary customer will save about Rs 100-Rs 150. It will also cut down on CO2 emissions by 11 million tonnes.
"It's we not only switched to a green and clean source of energy but also used it safely and efficiently. The PNG gas stove, developed by the Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun, is more thermally efficient and safer. It is available now on e-commerce platforms and the local markets. We have signed an agreement with EESL to make the new PNG gas stove available to the piped gas consumers through different schemes and offers," said Dr Niranjan Kumar Singh, Executive Director, PCRA.
Currently, there are about 74 lakh PNG consumers in the country while 80,000 are added every month, said PCRA.