Delhi caps commercial LPG supply at 20% of daily usage, hospitals get top priority

Amid an ongoing shortage of LPG cylinders due to the war in West Asia, the Delhi government on Saturday capped the daily regulated supply of commercial LPG cylinders at 20% of the city’s average daily consumption, dividing consumers into eight priority sectors with hospitals, educational institutions, Railways and airports getting 100% allocation.

According to an order issued by the Department of Food, Supplies and Consumer Affairs, only about 1,800 cylinders a day — 20% ofDelhi’s average daily commercial LPG consumption of around 9,000 cylinders (19-kg equivalent) — will now be distributed through a priority-based allocation mechanism in coordination with the three oil marketing companies (OMCs).

“Priority 1 sectors typically consume not more than 200 cylinders per day, but due to their essential nature they shall be supplied up to 100% of their requirements,” the order, undersigned by Arun Kumar Jha, Additional Commissioner (Food and Supplies), said.

Government departments and public sector institutions operating canteens will fall under the second priority category, while restaurants and eateries have been placed in the third category.

Hotels, hospitality units and guest houses will fall in the fourth category.

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Distribution will be based strictly on booking requests made by consumers, the order said.

The daily quota will be divided among the three OMCs in proportion to their current market share for 2025-26 financial year – 58% for IOC, 27% for BPCL and 15% for HPCL, it added.

“Supply of commercial LPG cylinders will be made primarily in the standard 19-kg cylinder format, except where specific capacity requirements exist for Priority 1 institutions.

No supply shall be made in 5-kg cylinders, as their distribution is not undertaken through LPG distributors in the commercial supply chain and would be difficult to regulate,” the order said.

Further, to prevent hoarding and ensure equitable distribution, the daily quantity supplied to each consumer will be determined on the basis of average daily consumption during the preceding three months, as recorded in the respective OMC software systems, officials said.

“Supply will be restricted to the sectoral cap percentages indicated in the priority table above.

The OMCs shall accept online booking requests through their respective systems and maintain a date-wise serial record of refill requests,” the order said.

It added that where supply cannot be made immediately upon booking, the consumer will be supplied, preferably on a First-In-First-Out (FIFO) basis.

“Pending requirements within each sectoral priority will be fulfilled on the next day to the extent feasible, subject to availability,” the order said.

Besides, enforcement agencies, including the police, Legal Metrology department, OMCs and the Food and Supplies department, have been directed to conduct regular inspections and enforcement operations to prevent diversion of LPG cylinders, hoarding, illegal storage, under-weighing and black marketing.

Mandating strict action against violations, the order stated, “…institutions may be encouraged to temporarily adopt alternative cooking systems, such as: electric induction cooking, steam-based cooking systems, PNG, wherever available.

This will help reduce pressure on commercial LPG demand during the supply constraints.”
Officials said the government will also issue daily supply bulletins on LPG availability to prevent panic and misinformation.

“This policy may be reviewed and revised from time to time depending on the evolving supply-demand situation,” the order said.

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