Govt Plans To Set Up 5,000 E100 Fuel Stations In Two Years To Reduce Import Reliance

The shortage of oil and the outward flow of foreign exchange have prompted the government to take back-to-back measures to control the deteriorating energy situation.

As part of the latest effort, the government is planning to set up 5,000 E100 fuel stations across the country to reduce the usage of petrol and diesel.

The 5,000 E100 fuel stations are planned to be set up over two years, according to a report by The Economic Times.

In the first phase, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is targeting the establishment of 150 such fuel stations in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur.

In the next 6-12 months, E100 fuel infrastructure will be expanded to cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad, along with deeper penetration in Delhi-NCR and Maharashtra.

During this period, another 500 retail outlets for E100 fuel will be commissioned. Thereafter, 5,000 retail outlets will become functional in the mid-term, within 24 months, the report said.

India imported crude oil worth Rs 10.9 lakh crore during the last financial year. The government had recently mandated the sale of E20 fuel from all fuel outlets in the country.

Shifting to E100 fuel may significantly reduce the country’s import bill. However, the automobile industry has requested the government to price E100 fuel about 30 percent lower than regular fuel due to its lower fuel efficiency.

E100 is a fuel that contains almost entirely ethanol. Retail fuel outlets in the country currently dispense fuel with 20 percent ethanol blended per litre of fuel.

For the first time, the government is holding discussions with stakeholders, including the automobile industry and oil marketing companies, to chart out a roadmap for establishing E100 fuel infrastructure in the country.

All leading carmakers and two-wheeler OEMs in the country have prototypes of flex-fuel vehicles ready, according to the report.

However, such vehicles have not been launched in the market due to almost negligible infrastructure and ambiguity around regulations.