Noida: Govt’s rules capping diesel sales per day has left housing societies in the city looking for ways to manage their power backup, including sending out notes to residents to use genset power sparingly to reduce fuel consumption.Condominiums are bulk consumers of diesel because of power outages that are frequent in NCR, especially in summers, because of lines being prone to faults and snags within societies because old feeders can’t match up to total load.On June 12, the Centre issued the “Motor Spirit and High-Speed Diesel (Temporary Regulation of Supply through Retail Outlets) Order, 2026,” capping retail diesel sales at 200 litres per vehicle or customer per day and banning bulk consumers from buying fuel from pumps. This 90-day temporary order was necessitated by escalating supply challenges because of the US-Israel war against Iran.While some societies like Prateek Wisteria in Sector 77 and Prateek Edifice in Sector 107 have shifted to CNG-powered generator sets, others dependent on diesel have urged residents to conserve electricity by switching off non-essential appliances. RWAs say diesel procurement is currently taking more than 24 hours, making it tougher to manage supply to tide through outages. Some societies have limited fuel stocks while others have sought the administrations’ intervention or are still working on contingency plans.It’s not just flats. In the condominium system, power backup is a critical service because essential services such as lifts, water pumps, common area lighting and safety systems need to be uninterrupted. Residential societies stock up on diesel once a week or once every two weeks, depending on the duration of power outages. According to the president of Noida Highrises Federation 100x sectors, Nikhil Singhal, for a society with a load of approximately 2000 kVA, diesel consumption depends on the actual load being drawn during a power cut. Running at 70-80% load, it may consume around 300-400 litres of diesel per hour.Two days ago, an outage at RG Residency in Sector 120 lasted about 10 hours and the AOA was left with only 39 minutes of diesel for their generator. “We have told residents that in case of a power cut, the society may be in the dark as we are struggling to procure diesel,” the association secretary, Avinash Arun, said. “Govt should ensure there are no power cuts or allow us to buy a full stock. Petrol pumps are not giving even 200 litres. We are being asked to take approval from the district magistrate. We have written to the DM.”He told TOI that big societies like theirs that have 1540 units must maintain a diesel stock of 4,000-5,000 litres to avoid emergencies. “In the past couple of days, we have consumed more than 3,000 litres of diesel. If they don’t supply fuel, how do we keep the lights on?” questioned Arun.In a high-rise society with more than 1,000 flats, a 30-minute power cut might lead to consumption of 150-200 litres of diesel for running a genset while an hour of outage can lead to 300-400 litres and for two hours of outage the consumption figure can go up to 800 litres.In Ghaziabad, the president of the residents’ association of Angel Mercury Society in Indirapuram, Avneesh Kumar, said, “We depend heavily on DG sets for essential services during power outages or voltage fluctuations. Our society has already reduced common area electricity consumption. However, relying solely on self-regulation and voluntary conservation in a large residential community is not a practical long-term solution.”“A generator is not a luxury but a necessity for the high-rises here,” said Amrapali Platinum’s AOA general secretary Ajit Kumar Singh. “In a panic situation, people may start hoarding, which would not be in the national interest. A more effective approach would have been to obtain written undertakings on the official letterheads of societies, specifying that they will neither procure nor sell quantities beyond a prescribed limit.”Secretary general of Noida Federation of Apartment Owners Associations, which has over 120 high-rises as members, Surojit Dasgupta has expressed concerns over recent restrictions on diesel procurement as well. He has called for a clear mechanism for diesel access to ensure essential services remain operational.As highrises grapple with the implications of the order, the focus remains on finding sustainable solutions for ensuring uninterrupted essential services amid power outages. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Sunday announced that he reached a deal with Iran and the Strait of Hormuz would be accessible soon and there would be no dearth of oil.
