Though the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) is assuring that Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) could be made available from Kochi in the first phase for vehicles, there is a lack of clarity on the viability of converting KSRTC buses and other vehicles to use CNG.
To tide over the crisis in KSRTC, the State Government is planning to convert the buses to use CNG as fuel.
However, without the completion of the pipe-laying works of GAIL in Kerala, any move by KSRTC to switch over to gas will only be adding fuel to fire for the loss-making Corporation.
George Antony, senior manager, operations, GAIL, said that the second phase of the pipeline project is progressing at a fast phase.
An action plan has been prepared to make available 10 kilometre of Right of Use (ROU) land acquisition in each district a month.
‘’If things move in the right direction, the pipe-laying works will be completed by March 2014 in Kerala. When the pipes are laid there will be provisions for CNG filling stations,’’ he said.
There will be one CNG filling station within a distance of 20 km.
The marketing department of GAIL has already submitted a route map for the city gas distribution at Kochi and a CNG-filling station is proposed to be set up at Aluva KSRTC depot.
Sources in GAIL said that CNG could be made available in Kochi in the first phase, if the government took steps to make available LNG, which can be converted into CNG format. At present, except BPCL, no other company has come forward to sign an MoU to avail of LNG for their operations.
Sources in KSRTC said that the MoU will not be signed with GAIL unless and until the viability report on KSRTC buses switching over to CNG is received. It is also pointed out that when CNG is filled in a bus, it can operate only 220 kilometres and if the filling stations are limited to Kochi, the services cannot be operated.
“Only the city service buses could benefit with the filling station at Kochi. Buses operating on long-distance routes will have to continue to have to use diesel as fuel till a clear picture on the availability of CNG is available and works are completed,’’ sources said.
GAIL sources said that an agreement had already been signed to make available 2.5 metric tonnes of LNG a day in Kochi.
Once the LNG station is commissioned, LNG could be made available in Kerala by April 2014.
Kerala Gail Gas Ltd, which is a joint venture company of the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) and Gail Gas Ltd, a GAIL subsidiary, will have to take the initiative for signing the MoU and operating the CNG stations.
In Kerala, the pipeline will pass through Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasargod districts.
Apart from CNG, the project aims at providing natural gas for industrial purposes, piped natural gas (PNG) to households, power plants, cold storage units and wind power plants.