Shares of Mahanagar Gas Ltd surged 5% on 9 July after the city gas distributor increased the prices for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Piped Natural Gas (PNG) in and around Mumbai to nullify the growing input cost. 

In its regulatory filing, the company said it would raise the price of CNG by Rs 1.5 per kilogram (Kg) and the domestic PNG by Rs 1 per standard cubic meter (SCM). Following this, the updated delivery price for CNG, including taxes, will be Rs 75/kg, and the domestic PNG price in and around India’s financial capital will be Rs 48/SCM.

According to MGL, the increase was implemented to cover the increased expenses related to importing natural gas.

The company added, “To meet the increasing volume of CNG and domestic piped natural gas (PNG) segments and due to further shortfall in domestic gas allocation, MGL is sourcing additional market priced natural gas (imported LNG) which has resulted in higher gas cost.”
 
Mahanagar Gas is not the only gas distributor that has raised their prices. Earlier, Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) increased the price of CNG in Delhi by Re 1 per kilogram to Rs 75.09. PNG pricing, however, stayed at Rs 48.59 per SCM.

Last week, Gujrat Gas also hiked the prices of industrial natural gas by Rs 2 to Rs 2.48 SCM for Morbi, Gujrat, which is the home to the country’s largest ceramic cluster.  

Even after the latest revision, MGL said its CNG “offers attractive savings of about 50% and 17% as compared to petrol and diesel, respectively, at current price levels in Mumbai.”

“While MGL’s domestic PNG continues delivering unmatched convenience, safety, reliability and environmental friendliness to consumers,” the company said. The firm also added that “even after the minor increase, MGL’s price of CNG and domestic PNG are amongst the lowest in the country.”

At 2:43 pm, the shares of Mahanagar Gas shed all their early gains and were trading 0.11% lower at Rs 1,667.20 on NSE.