New Delhi, Aug. 21 -- The stocks of city gas distribution (CGD) companies are in the spotlight following the central government's policy boost announced earlier this week, aimed at increasing domestic piped natural gas (D-PNG) consumption.

Under the scheme, CGDs will receive a one-time additional allocation of 200 standard cubic metres (scm) of gas through the administered price mechanism (APM) for each new customer acquired, over and above the customers added during the base period. CGDs such as Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL), Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL) and Gujarat Energy Ltd (GEL, formerly Gujarat Gas Ltd) meet part of their natural gas requirements through cheaper APM gas and procure the remainder at market prices.

Since average household c...