IGL's Five-Year Plan: Expansion, Renewable Energy Shift Amid Infrastructure Challenges

Guwahati: Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) is an Indian natural gas distribution company that supplies natural gas as cooking and vehicular fuel, primarily in Delhi NCR. Established in 1998, the company is a joint venture between GAIL, Bharat Petroleum, and the Government of Delhi.

Business North East (BNE) recently spoke to the Chief General Manager of Indraprastha Gas Limited, Kamruddin Ansari, regarding IGL's upcoming plans and its biggest challenges in infrastructure expansion.

Here are the excerpts from the Q&A interview: 

BNE: What are Indraprastha Gas Limited's (IGL) plans for the next five years regarding CNG and PNG?

Kamruddin Ansari: Currently, we operate in districts across four states: Delhi, Haryana, and Rajasthan. In the next five years, we plan on expanding beyond these districts, which require navigating the PNGRB's regulatory framework. Since the bidding process for these areas is largely complete, expansion opportunities primarily involve acquiring existing businesses. However, significant growth potential remains within our current operational area. We are also diversifying into other energy sectors like solar and LNG. 1 Regarding LNG, we plan to establish 5 to 10 LNG stations annually across India, focusing on highways.   

BNE: What new initiatives does IGL plan on implementing regarding CNG and PNG?

Kamruddin Ansari: We add approximately 70 to 90 CNG stations and 300,000 to 350,000 domestic PNG connections annually. Our target is to make CNG available throughout the country. 

BNE: What steps is Indraprastha Gas Limited taking to adopt renewable energy technologies and reduce its carbon footprint?

Kamruddin Ansari: Our net-zero target is set for 2030-2035. We are transitioning to solar energy and switching from gas or other fuels used to power engines, TG sets, etc., to solar or green energy sources.

BNE: What are your thoughts on the Northeastern region? Are there any new plans for Northeast, particularly Assam?

Kamruddin Ansari: Companies cannot simply establish operations anywhere. However, options like acquiring existing entities such as TNNCL or Assam Gas are possible. We explored opportunities in Manipur, but they didn't materialise. While options exist, our current opportunities for CGD expansion in the Northeast are limited. We can certainly explore LNG options, but we have no specific plans for Assam or the broader Northeast region. However, we remain open to future possibilities.

ALSO READ: SIDBI Venture Capital Strengthens Investment Ecosystem In NE, Eyes Deep Tech, MSME Growth

BNE: What are the biggest challenges IGL faces in expanding its infrastructure, especially in regions with complex terrain or regulatory hurdles?

Kamruddin Ansari : Maintaining the network in hilly terrain is very difficult. Capital expenditure increases significantly, but we cannot transfer these costs to consumers due to price and regulatory constraints set by PNGRB, making it challenging to minimise our capital expenditure and ensure a reasonable return on investment. For example, in Rajasthan's Ajmer, the hilly terrain makes laying the steel network for gas sourcing extremely difficult, leading to high capital expenditure and challenges in achieving returns. We are exploring solutions, such as chemical blasting (cheaper than dynamic blasting) and HDD machines. We are also considering establishing small LNG stations at strategic locations (e.g., every 10-15 kilometres) to create local gas sources, reducing the length of network pipelines required.