4.5 Lakh Telangana Consumers Wait as LPG Connection Restrictions Reach 5 Months

Households across Telangana, including Hyderabad, continue to face a prolonged wait for new liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections and double bottle connections five months after oil marketing companies placed approvals on hold following the West Asia crisis.

While other curbs introduced after the crisis began on February 28—such as restrictions on commercial LPG supplies and bulk diesel sales—have since been relaxed, the freeze on new domestic connections remains in place. Oil industry sources estimate that lakhs of households are awaiting early resumption, while Telangana LPG Distributors Association President Jagan Mohan Reddy stated that an estimated 4 to 4.5 lakh consumers in the state are expected to benefit once the government authorises new issues.

Newly married couples, families relocating for jobs or education, and larger households needing an additional cylinder have been severely affected by the ongoing restrictions. Distributors across the state continue to receive daily enquiries from customers seeking fresh connections or a second cylinder.

Adding to consumer concerns, existing LPG users who have not completed their biometric Aadhaar authentication (e-KYC) recently received warning messages. The alerts stated that non-compliant customers will become ineligible to receive LPG refills at subsidised prices. Oil marketing companies—Indian Oil, HPCL, and BPCL—along with distributors are awaiting formal communication regarding the pricing structure and applicable tax rates for non-eKYC customers if supplies are shifted to commercial rates.

Currently in Hyderabad, a 14.2 kg domestic LPG cylinder costs ₹994 with 5 percent GST. In contrast, a 19 kg commercial cylinder costs ₹2,985 following a ₹206 price reduction on August 1. Per data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, Telangana accounts for 1.26 crore of the country's 32.97 crore active domestic LPG consumers.

In the interim, oil companies have been promoting alternative options, including 5 kg free trade LPG and a recently introduced 10 kg composite body cylinder, both of which are linked to commercial LPG pricing.