The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has unveiled its annual action plan, outlining strategic priorities to accelerate natural gas adoption and foster competition across India’s downstream energy sector. A cornerstone of the roadmap includes opening City Gas Distribution (CGD) networks to external capital investment and third-party access in geographical areas where infrastructure exclusivity has expired.
To enhance transparency and facilitate open access to natural gas infrastructure, the regulator plans to revise pipeline authorization framework to evaluate capex-based bidding, unbundle gas transmission from marketing, and establish an independent Transmission System Operator (TSO) to ensure non-discriminatory pipeline access.
Additional strategic initiatives under the current year’s action plan include revising CGD authorization rules for inter-network connectivity, enabling compressed biogas (CBG) trading and regasified LNG terminal capacity booking on gas exchanges, and launching an integrated digital consumer portal for streamlined grievance redressal.
Strategic Priorities & Regulatory Action Plan
Third-Party CGD Access: Permitting external capital infusion and infrastructure sharing in CGD regions post-exclusivity expiry.
Pipeline Infrastructure Unbundling: Progressing toward an independent Transmission System Operator (TSO) and reviewing pipeline authorization regulations via capex-based bidding models.
Market Integration: Enabling CBG trading and RLNG terminal capacity booking on gas exchanges to boost market liquidity.
Demand Creation & Policy Support: Partnering with state governments to establish LPG-free zones to accelerate Piped Natural Gas (PNG) adoption, while shifting fuel transport from road/rail to pipelines.
Consumer Governance: Launching an integrated digital PNGRB consumer portal to centralize registration, tracking, and resolution of consumer grievances.
Sector: Downstream Oil & Gas, Energy Infrastructure & Regulatory Affairs