• PAGE ONE
• INDEX
• HOME

CNG: A cost-effective alternative

P. P. Sangal

A STRONG debate is going on over the use of CNG as an alternative fuel for public transport in Delhi in the wake of the Supreme Court order to replace diesel-driven vehicles by CNG vehicles.

The recently-concluded ``International Conference and Expositions on Sustainable Development of Alternate Energy Driven Programme'', organised by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), also extensively deliberated in depth on the use of C NG and other alternative auto-fuels. The Conference was attended by several experts from the US (including representatives of the Department of Energy, California Air Resource Board and EPA), the International Energy Agency (France), Fuel Systems (Canada ), the Netherlands, Italy, and so on. Besides, experts from the IITs (Delhi and Mumbai), Benares Hindu University, Varanasi), Bharat Petroleum, CPCB, Ministry of Transport, Ashok Leyland and Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, besides NGOs and environmentalist, a lso participated.

The different emission levels (they, of course, vary with type of engine) from CNG and diesel-driven buses in Delhi were discussed (Table 1).

An analysis of these figures shows that sulphur dioxide, SPM, oxides of nitrogen, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxides are reduced significantly by plying CNG buses. This is no mean achievement, when one looks at the present grim reality of annual vehicular emission in Delhi. The vehicles spew 92,000 tonnes of sulphur dioxide, 5,00,000 tonnes of carbon monoxide, 1,30,000 tonnes of nitrogen dioxide and 2,00,000 tonnes of SPM.

Though all subscribe to the fact that CNG is a clean fuel, the main opposition to its use comes from various stakeholders -- vehicle owners (Government and private) and users of public transport and bus manufacturers due to the following reasons.

(a) High conversion cost of vehicles to CNG mode or high cost of acquisition of new vehicles with CNG technology.

(b) Likelihood of increase in bus fares.

(c) Lack of dispensing/ filling outlets and cost involved in creating desired infrastructure.

(d) Non-availability of conversion kits or new CNG vehicles in the short term.

(e) Safety aspect of CNG cylinders.

(f) Reliability of CNG buses vis-a-vis diesel buses.

The above apprehensions are misplaced due to the disinformation campaign unleashed by some.

On the cost of conversion to CNG mode, on an average, about Rs 3 lakh would be required if the Government negotiates with and disciplines the companies entrusted with conversion. This means approximately Rs 300 crore would be needed for converting the en tire fleet of 10,000 buses in Delhi. Even if some of them cannot be converted, let us add another Rs 300 crore (as Rs 5 lakh extra cost of a CNG bus over a diesel bus) for replacing 6,000 old diesel by new CNG buses. In any case, these old buses had to b e replaced sooner or later. Thus, there is a total investment of Rs 600 crore and this is a one-time investment.

This expenditure is not high when Rs 1,400 crore is the annual cost of health restoration due to air pollution in Delhi, according to a World Bank study. Even then, one person per hour dies of air pollution in Delhi. This cost, willy nilly, is borne by t he individuals, the government and the corporates for providing health services to their employees. If this awareness is created among the people, it is certain that there would be spontaneous sharing of the cost of CNG buses by all concerned, as they wo uld be inhaling clean air while saving some money spent on the treatment of diseases due to air pollution. In short, switching over to CNG technology would be a cost-effective alternative.

Further, automobile manufacturers, as all other corporates, have an obligation towards society to ensure them a clean environment as part of good governance. Thus, they should willingly cut down on conversion costs. The Government, on its part, should al so put in place fiscal measures such as reduction of import and excise duties on retrofit kits to give a boost to the programme.

As for the possible hike in bus fares due to introduction of CNG buses, it must be noted that the running cost/km of CNG buses is lower than diesel buses and, further, lower than petrol. In Delhi, the cost of CNG per litre of energy equivalent is Rs 10.3 4 (Rs 12.21/kg) while that of diesel is Rs 17.05. The fear that the CNG price would increase drastically appears unfounded. In fact, the cost advantage should swing in favour of CNG when the Administrative Price Mechanism is dismantled, with effect from April 1, 2002, or ultra-low sulphur diesel is used and OPEC countries increase crude prices.

Also, the maintenance cost of CNG vehicles is lower than diesel and petrol vehicles due to better fuel quality. The clean burning characteristics of CNG helps in increased spark plug life, reduces the number of oil changes and results in less wear of eng ine parts. Thus, there appears to be no case for increase in public transport fares.

Another worry seems to be the availability of adequate number of dispensing retail outlets in Delhi for CNG and the cost of setting them up. If Rs 15,000 crore can be arranged for technical upgradation of refineries for producing 0.25 per cent sulphur di esel (250 ppm) from 0.5 per cent (500 ppm) and another estimated Rs 35,000 crore for producing 0.035 per cent sulphur diesel in four-five years, cannot a far smaller amount be spent on setting up CNG filling stations in Delhi?

On the non-availability of conversion kits or new CNG buses, it must be understood that problems are inevitable when a programme is launched. If, however, a well-planned scheme of implementation had been worked out seriously three years back (when the S upreme Court passed its order for conversion of diesel vehicles into CNG mode), such a war-like emergency situation could have been averted. Anyway, let the political masters and bureaucrats learn from their past mistakes. They must take the responsibili ty now with utmost urgency and show the best possible results by September 2001.

The safety of CNG cylinders and reliability of CNG vehicles vis-a-vis diesel vehicles, can be taken care of by tightening controls, improving supervision and adopting better technology as the programme gets going. Accidents and reliability are inherent i n every system. Adequate measures need to be taken to ensure safety and high reliability.

Today, CNG is the most suitable eco-friendly auto-fuel for Delhi and other big cities on cost-effectiveness considerations. It is also suggested that R&D work be started for developing other fuel technologies, such as LNG or LPG, solar, hydrogen and batt ery hybrid, if found suitable for Indian conditions. A road-map for their availability, the necessary infrastructure and the economic and technical viability should be developed simultaneously to avoid any pitfalls later. It should be known that some of these fuels are renewable energies, and may prove to be a better option than natural gases such as CNG, which we are so vociferously advocating.

(The author is former Director, CSO, and Addl. Advisor Planning Commission, UN Consultant on Environment and Consultant to the CSIR.)