Price pressures deflate gas use equations, put $2 trn investments at risk

City gas consumption is expected to anchor Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of more than doubling the share of natural gas in India’s energy mix by 2030. But the strands that bind consumption of the fuel to kitchens, vehicles and industries from Rameshwaram to Kashmir are so tenuous that the slightest jump in international gas prices, coupled with stagnation in domestic production, is sufficient to fray demand.

City gas distribution (CGD) utilities were among the first to feel the impact of rising fuel prices on demand last year after customers deserted them for alternative fuels. CNG users in Delhi and