The rich get the cheapest fuel

ipsita's picture
Submitted by ipsita on Tue, 1994-02-15 00:00

URBAN protests that greeted the sudden Rs 15 increase in the price of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) led the petroleum minister to quickly retract and slash the hike to Rs 10. But was the increase really unjustified? In fact, between 1984-85 and 1994-1994, the cost advantage of LPG has actually gone up.

A comparison of "useful energy" delivered by firewood, kerosene and gas shows LPG is still the cheapest fuel and continues to receive a subsidy of Rs 61 per cylinder. Useful energy is the energy available for cooking after taking into account the efficiency of the stove.

Even with the latest price increase, cooking food with LPG costs less than one-tenth that of cooking with firewood and half that of kerosene. LPG is not available easily to the urban poor, who use mainly kerosene and firewood. It rains the preserve of the urban middle-class and the rich.


COMPARATIVE COSTS OF COOKING FULES
Energy source Unit Unit price RS Cost of useful energy (Rs/GJ) Ratio of fuel cost to LPG
84-85 93-94 84-85 93-94 84-85 93-94
Firewood 1 kg 0.65 2.00 541.67 1,666.66 6.03 11.34
Kerosene (PDS) 1 litre 1.90 2.70 106.74 134.53 1.19 0.92
Kerosene(open market) 1 litre 4.00 6.00 224.72 298.95 2.50 2.03
LPG 1 kg 3.60 6.50 89.81 146.96 1.00 1.00

Note:  All prices for 1984-85 have been taken from the State of India's Environment 1984-85: A Citizen's Report, CSE, 1985.  Gj:Gigajoules 

Name of the Newspaper: 
Down To Earth
Main Topic: 
India
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Main Type: 
dte
Publication Date: 
14/02/1994