Mumbai CNG Supply Hit: Full restoration likely by tomorrow, MGL says

Shares of Mahanagar Gas Ltd. (MGL) and GAIL (India) Ltd. continue to be in focus on Monday, November 17, after a major disruption in compressed natural gas (CNG) supply hit Mumbai over the weekend.

The outage followed damage to the supply line that feeds MGL's City Gate Station (CGS) at Wadala, the company told CNBC-TV18.

According to MGL, the supply pipeline from GAIL to the Wadala CGS was damaged on Sunday morning. While the company briefly managed to restore gas flow to a limited extent, officials said the pressure remained significantly low through the day.

MGL expects supply to be fully restored by Tuesday.

MGL prioritises PNG homes

In the meantime, the company has continued to prioritise uninterrupted domestic piped natural gas (PNG). With gas flow to the Wadala station still curtailed, several CNG pumps across Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai remain closed.

MGL said supply across the network will normalise once repairs are completed and gas flow to the Wadala CGS is reinstated.

Industrial and commercial customers in affected areas have been advised to temporarily switch to alternative fuels.

City mobility hit

Mumbai's public and shared transport network remains severely impacted, as a vast majority of autos, taxis, app-based cabs and several BEST buses run on CNG supplied by MGL.

Transport unions said the situation on the ground has worsened rapidly. Shashank Rao, President of the Mumbai Auto Rickshaw and Taxi Men's Union, said there has been no communication from MGL regarding timelines and only vehicles with some CNG reserve are currently operating.

Mumbai has around 30,000 kali-peeli taxis and 2.80 lakh autorickshaws, while the wider Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) has more than 4.70 lakh autos dependent on CNG.

Rao warned that if supply does not resume soon, the city could see most autos and taxis going off the roads by evening, with the suburbs already witnessing vehicles withdrawing from service as pumps remain shut.

Shares of Mahanagar Gas Ltd. closed 1.88% higher at ₹1,255, while GAIL (India) ended marginally higher at ₹183.80 on Friday.