The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has notified new regulations which list eight essential rights of consumers of Petrol, diesel and natural gas products.The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (Consumer Protection) Regulations seek to make petroleum and gas entities accountable while creating mechanisms to ensure consumers are not inconvenienced. The same regulations also create grievance redressal mechanisms in case consumers have complaints.What are 8 core rights of consumers?Right to Safety (To be protected against hazardous petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas)Right to Information (To be informed about petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas, including its quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard, price and composition so as to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices)Right to Choose (To have choice among the various suppliers and access to a variety of petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas at competitive prices)Right to be Heard (To be assured that consumer interests will receive due consideration at appropriate forums)Right to Redressal (To seek redressal against unfair trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers in a time bound manner)Right to Quality and Assured Supply (To be assured for continuous, safe, and quality supply of natural gas);Right to Fair Trade Practices (To be protected from unfair trade practices, false advertising, overcharging, or misrepresentation)Right to Consumer Education (To acquire knowledge and skills to be an informed consumer throughout life).Specific rights of PNG consumersPNG consumers have the right to new connections and the right to know the current status of their application, expected time for activation and reasons for any delay or non-activation. They must have uninterrupted supply of natural gas except for planned maintenance or force majeure events. They must get prior intimation of at least 48 hours for planned supply interruptions.Specific rights of CNG consumersDisplay of price per kilogram at all CNG stations; safe dispensing facilities meeting technical standards and safety specifications; receipt for every transaction mentioning breakup of the MRP; complaint registration mechanism, including QR code-based instant complaint lodging facility at CNG stations and basic amenities, including washrooms, drinking water and air filling services at no cost at CNG stations.Specific rights of LPG usersEvery LPG consumer will have the right to timely delivery of refills within specified time frames — currently in 2.5 days if the refill is ordered after 25 days in urban and 45 days in rural areas; LPG cylinder of specified quality and weight meeting safety standards; emergency response established and maintained by LPG distributors for leakage related complaints, through dedicated helpline accessible at all times; booking through multiple channels, including online, telephone and mobile app; accurate subsidy credit and transparent billing; complaint registration through toll-free number and other channels; safe delivery and installation by authorised personnel.Grievance redressalEvery consumer shall have the right to lodge a complaint with the Consumer Complaint Cell of the entity through multiple channels. Every consumer shall have the right to escalate the complaint through the defined escalation matrix if not resolved within specified turn around time. Every consumer shall have the right to escalate the complaint to the Ombudsman if the complaint remains unresolved even after approaching the Appellate Authority of the entity. Every consumer shall have the right to approach consumer forums under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 without prejudice to the rights under these regulations.Consumer complaint cellEvery entity shall establish a Consumer Complaint Cell at its head/corporate office and may establish additional consumer complaint cell at other offices as required by the entity. The Cell has to acknowledge receipt of complaint within 24 hours and allot a unique complaint reference number which shall be communicated to the consumer through SMS and email.How can you complain?At the Consumer Complaint Cell complaints can be given through — walk-in customer care centres and area offices; toll-free helpline (operational during specified hours); emergency helpline (24×7 for emergency complaints); email to official grievance addresses; online grievance portal on entity’s website; mobile applications; chatbot; QR code scanning at CNG stations and retail outlets; social media platforms; government portals (CPGRAMS, IGMS, INGRAM, MoPNG eSEVA); complaint/suggestion books at distributorships and retail outlets; written letters or post.How much time can outlets take to redress complaints?Category A: Emergency segment (gas leakage, fire, complete supply failure): warrant immediate action and resolution within 24 hoursCategory B: High Priority: Activation, partial supply failure, pressure, metering, billing, payment issues — must be resolved in 7 working daysCategory C: Normal: Service quality, minor issues, general complaints — resolution in 15 working days