Close on the heels of a similar initiative by Indian Oil Corp. (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL) is now trialing home-delivery of diesel in Mumbai, and has plans to expand it to other parts of the country.
M.K. Surana, CMD Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. launched ‘HP Fuel Connect’ in the presence of other HPCL functional and Senior Directors.
HP Fuel Connect will deliver diesel to select fixed equipment and heavy machinery customers on premise. The service will first be trialed in areas of Uran, Raigad in Maharashtra.
The service is designed to aid those customers who until now were acquiring diesel in barrels from retail outlets. The new service will add to time and cost efficiency safe delivery and reduce fuel loss.
HP Fuel Connect is equipped safety features such as Bottom loading with Jet Sensor, Pre-check Valve, High and Low level Sensors, Nozzle Boot interlock, etc, for optimum operation safety. The ‘Fuel Browser (Refueller)’ is appropriately fitted with RFID tagging, GPS tracking, Geo fencing, etc.
HP’s ‘Service at your Place’ is being facilitated through loading facilities developed at the Dronagiri retail outlet especially for the trial.
Similar to IOC, HPCL has mounted a diesel dispenser on a mid-sized truck along with a storage tank. Static Customers being approached at the onset include commercial spaces that depend on diesel gensets, and transport companies with huge diesel consumption.
Earlier, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan had said the government was considering home delivery of fuel to lower wait time and queues. However, for such functionality, a clearance from PESO is required owing to the inflammable nature of fuel alongwith appropriate safety precautions. Permissions acquired from PESO as of now permit only delivery on trial basis. Home delivery of fuel is also being trialed in Bangalore through a programme to order fuel online.
