CM Stalin chairs a meeting on the LPG shortage crisis on Saturday
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday (March 14, 2026) announced a ₹2-per-unit subsidy on electricity for hotels, tea stalls, and cloud kitchens that use electric stoves instead of LPG cylinders. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to discuss the crisis caused by the lack of adequate LPG in the wake of the war in West Asia.
A State government press release said the subsidy would remain in place until the regulations on the use of LPG cylinders were lifted. The government also allotted 3,228 kilolitres of kerosene for distribution to ration card holders.
Loans for MSMEs
The government further announced loans for micro, small, and medium enterprises to purchase electric stoves and heaters to overcome the LPG shortage. Under the Unemployed Youth Employment Generation Programme (UYEGP), loans with a grant of 25% or a maximum grant of ₹3.75 lakh would be released.
Similarly, loans will be released under the Tamil Nadu Women Entrepreneur Empowerment Scheme (TWEES) with a grant of 25% or a maximum grant of ₹2 lakh. Similarly, the grant is 35% or ₹1 crore under Annal Ambedkar Business Champions Scheme (AABCS).
Exemptions for factories
In Tamil Nadu, a total of 60,698 factories are using LPG, CNG, diesel, furnace oil, and firewood with the permission of the Pollution Control Board. These factories can opt for kerosene, RDF, HSD, and biomass as fuel and there is no need to get a CTE/CTO certificate from the PCB. The exemption will be in place till the crisis is resolved.
As farmers are likely to be affected in the wake of closure of hotels, the government has announced that they could sell their produce at 194 Uzhavar Sandhais without any restrictions.
The government also constituted a committee headed by the Chief Secretary to monitor the allocation of LPG to commercial establishments at the State level. In districts, a committee headed by the district collector will have officials of oil companies as members.
Hotel association thanks CM
The Tamil Nadu Hotels Association thanked the Chief Minister for the reduction in electricity rates.
M. Venkadasubbu, president of the association, said the discount was timely while reiterating their demands, including extending benefits such as a reduction in property tax and industrial electricity tariff concessions to the hotel sector, allowing the use of solar and wind energy through third-party arrangements or captive generation for hotels with LT electricity connections, and granting full net-metering credit for the surplus electricity generated by hotels with rooftop solar power systems.
Published – March 14, 2026 05:28 pm IST
