What happened: Ministry clarification on revised CBG pricing and consumer affordability
The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas issued a clarification to address concerns reported in a newspaper about the impact of revised Compressed Biogas (CBG) pricing under the GOBARdhan Scheme on CNG and household PNG consumers. The Ministry argued that the newspaper’s conclusion misread how CBG pricing flows through the system to consumers, and it highlighted affordability support and a wider gas-pooling base to protect consumers.
Background and earlier position: how CBG procurement price links to CNG retail price
Under the existing system described by the Ministry, the price paid to CBG producers is linked to 85% of the retail selling price of CNG. Using the latest revision figures mentioned in the clarification, this linkage works out to about ₹1,478 per MMBtu as the procurement price paid to CBG producers.
What changed now: revised CBG procurement price under the GOBARdhan Scheme
Under the GOBARdhan Scheme framework stated by the Ministry, the CBG procurement price has been fixed at ₹2,110 per MMBtu. The Ministry stated that the increase from ₹1,478 per MMBtu to ₹2,110 per MMBtu is approximately 43% at the level of the procurement price paid to CBG producers.