LPG
portability: Consumers can switch their dealers
Unlike cellular services where consumers have
the option to switch between different mobile companies, LPG consumers would
have the limited option of changing only their dealers, not the oil company
New Delhi: Cooking gas consumers can now change their dealers as the government has launched LPG portability scheme on the lines of mobile phone services, reports PTI.
New Delhi: Cooking gas consumers can now change their dealers as the government has launched LPG portability scheme on the lines of mobile phone services, reports PTI.
However,
unlike cellular services where consumers have the option to switch between different
mobile companies, LPG consumers would have the limited option of changing only
their dealers, not the oil company.
So, if
you are a consumer of Indane gas from Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), you now
have an option to choose from Indane Gas dealers in the locality. But you
cannot switch to Bharat Gas of Bharat Petroleum or HP Gas of Hindustan
Petroleum.
“LPG
distributor (dealer) portability has been launched in Chandigarh and will be extended to at least 25 more districts in the next
fiscal,” oil minister M Veerappa Moily told reporters.
The scheme would be extended all over
the country in a phased manner.
“A pool
of two to three dealers would be cleared for every locality in the district.
Consumers will have the option of choosing from this cluster,” Moily said.
A
ministry official explained, meanwhile, that inter- company portability was not
legally possible for the time being as the law provides for a LPG cylinder belonging to a particular company to be submitted to only that
company for refills.
“We are
looking at the possibility of changing law or creating a situation where the
consumer returns the cylinder to that particular company before availing of a new connection from a different company,” he said.
Moily
announced launched new IT/web enabled initiative, 'Lakshya', to enable
consumers book and track refills online as well on mobile phone.
Moily
said LPG dealer portability has been launched to provide better services to
13.5 crore customers and end the monopolistic practices of the cooking gas
distributors.
Like
portability in mobile services, which allow customers to change service
providers while retaining their number by paying a small one-time fee,
portability of LPG connections allows customers to change their dealers.
He said
the new IT/web enabled initiatives was to make distribution of domestic LPG
more customer friendly and enhance transparency.
Indian
Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum together home-deliver over 30
lakh cylinders every day.
Customers
can now rate their distributors on service, with Moily saying that dealerships
can be terminated for perennial poor service.
Now each
distributor is being automatically rated
from 5 stars to no star on a graded scale using transaction data. The
distributor who supplies 85% of cylinders booked in less than two days is rated
5 stars and the distributor who supplies 85% cylinders beyond 10 days is rated
no star. Others are rated in between according to their delivery pattern.
The
rating will help consumers select distributorships once portability is
available. Customers can now view the delivery pattern of their distributor and
compare it with other distributors in their area.
Moily
said the government will soon appoint 2,500 new LPG distributors after tweaking
appointment rules.
He said
the request for portability can be made electronically on the web portal and
will be completed without manual intervention.
Also, new
connections can be applied online.
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