Mumbai, March 31: The city gas utility Mahanagar Gas on Thursday announced a steep reduction in the retail price of CNG by Rs 6 per kg and piped gas by Rs 3.50 per scm, effective Friday, even as the Centre more than doubled the price of domestically-produced natural gas earlier in the day.

In a statement on Thursday, MGL said consequent to the reduction in VAT on natural gas from 13.5 per cent to 3 per cent from April 1 by the state government, MGL has decided to pass on the entire benefit to end-consumers.

Accordingly, the retail price of compressed natural gas (CNG) is cut by Rs 6 to Rs 60 per kg and domestic piped natural gas (PNG) by Rs 3.50 to Rs 36/scm in and around Mumbai effective Friday, it said. Fuel Price Hike: Petrol, Diesel Prices Rise for Fifth Time in 6 Days; Petrol Up by 50 Paise, Diesel Up 55 Paise.

When asked for a reaction to the price hike by the Centre for the producers, an MGL spokesperson told PTI that the company will evaluate the impact of the massive increase in supply prices in the due course of time and revise its retail prices accordingly.

Earlier in the day, the Centre more than doubled the price of domestically produced natural gas for the six months beginning April 1 on the back of a spike in global energy rates and the move will immensely benefit the likes of Reliance, ONGC and Oil India.

Accordingly, the price of gas from regulated fields of state-owned ONGC and Oil India will rise to a record USD6.10 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) from USD 2.90 per mmBtu now, according to a notification issued by the oil ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell. The rate paid for difficult fields like deepwater will rise to USD 9.92 per mmBtu for April-September from USD 6.13 per mmBtu, it said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)