Looks like Ahmedabad can breathe easier in the new year. The State Government’s decided to run CNG buses and industry’s given the nod to natural gas. What else is in the pipeline? Natural gas for domestic use — meaning for cooking and to run electrical appliances like air-conditioners and geysers at less than half of what electricity costs.
Where does the supply start? In Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency, Maninagar.
With the Gujarat Adani Energy Limited (GAEL) pipeline grid expected to reach Maninagar by next month, residents can say hello natural gas, bye-bye LPG soon after. GAEL has already completed 12 km of the 55-km ring around the city.
‘‘Maninagar is the first residential area that will be part of the pipeline grid. We plan to start supplying natural gas for domestic use from that area,’’ GAEL president Rajiv Sharma said.
And though rates have not been fixed, natural gas is expected to give LPG more than a run for its money. ‘‘It can safely be said that natural gas will be at least 20 per cent cheaper than LPG,’’ Sharma said. And if you thought that natural gas could be used only for cooking, think again! You can even use it to run electrical appliances like geysers, air-conditioners and generators. Appliances that run on natural gas are available in the market. Priced ‘‘25 per cent higher’’ than conventional ones, experts say that you can recover that cost in a few months.
The cost of using natural gas could slash your power bill to one-third of the present one. ‘‘Natural gas is economically more viable than LPG and power, and once supply starts we expect an overwhelming response,’’ Sharma said, adding that maintenance is also easy. Clearly, the high initial cost should be viewed as an investment.
While ‘‘natural-gas’’ geysers and generators are like conventional ones, the ACs come in a standard capacity — 10 tonnes. What dealers suggest is getting the house or commercial property centrally air-conditioned by buying a 10-tonne machine instead of going in for three or four 1.5-tonne ACs for the bedrooms and living areas.
Conducted by the company had revealed that there are about 70,000 houses in Maninagar. Initially, GAEL expects only five to 10 per cent of these houses to go in for piped natural gas. ‘‘It’s a new concept and people are not quite aware. However, we expect the client base to multiply once supply starts,’’ Sharma said.
The company is currently in the process of identifying residential colonies in the area and also hotels and hospitals for supply of natural gas for commercial purposes, which will be covered in the first phase. ‘‘Eventually, the whole city will be part of the grid, which is expected to be completed by March 2005,’’ Sharma said.
In the next phase, GAEL plans to begin work on laying the main pipeline for distribution of natural gas in eastern and western areas of the city simultaneously. While the western region includes the 132-Feet Ring Road, the Eastern region includes Jamalpur, Maninagar and Subhash Bridge.