LPG Supply Cuts Hit Hyderabad Restaurants

• LPG supply to Hyderabad restaurants has been cut back due to import disruptions following the Israel-US war.
• OMCs limited commercial cylinder supply to hospitals/schools, affecting ~20,000 Hyderabad restaurants & 40,000 cafes.
• Telangana LPG distributors urge households to conserve usage to extend cylinder life amid a 25-30% supply gap.

Hyderabad: Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) distributors have drastically reduced the supply of commercial cylinders to establishments such as hotels, restaurants,

after Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) issued an advisory amid import disruptions.

The OMCs have instructed distributors to supply commercial cylinders only to hospitals and educational institutions, while instructing to place limits on restaurants, clubs and catering units, Money Control reported.

The cap on LPG has affected about 20,000 restaurants in Hyderabad while 40,000 cafes and hotels will likely take a hit across Telangana.

Israel-US war on Iran leads to energy crisis:

Disruptions in LPG shipments from the Gulf region occurred after hostilities escalated across West Asia since February 28. No oil tankers and vessels from the Gulf reached supply ports catering to Telangana, Andhra Pradesh in the last week, officials said.

One shipment from the United States arrived but imports from the US usually takes 40-45 days. India imports about 56-58 percent of its LPG from Gulf countries, experts said.

A demand and supply gap means a shortage of LPG supply by about 25-30 percent, which could lead to a hike in prices, reports suggested.

LPG supplies to Telangana:

Telangana receives its LPG supply from Visakhapatnam refinery, Krishnapatnam storage facility and Mangalore refinery.

Telangana State Hotels Association President Saddi Venkat Reddy criticised the decision and said that it would impact the hospitality sector in a serious manner across the state.

Telangana LPG distributors Association President Jagan Mohan Reddy said that due to LPG reserve concerns, commercial cylinders won’t be supplied to hotels and restaurants.

He further stated that the move is aimed to extending LPG reserves for household consumption. “The advisory said that import volumes have been capped and the time required for shipments to reach India has increased threefold.”

The association also urged household consumers to use LPG conservatively to ensure the cylinder lasts at least for a month.