IGL appeals tribunal over city gas project

Protests net worth criterion laid down by Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board.

Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL), which bid for the city gas distribution project in Sonepat and Meerut, has approached the appellate tribunal for electricity (APTEL) against the net worth criterion laid down by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) for the project. Besides handling matters related to electricity, APTEL also deals with cases relating to the gas distribution industry.

IGL is the only supplier of compressed natural gas (CNG) in the national capital.

“The current net worth norm deducts Rs 400 crore for our Delhi project from our total net worth. This leaves us with a net worth of only Rs 300 crore, though our current net worth is Rs 700 crore. Consequently, it limits our ability to bid for more city gas projects,” said Rajesh Vedvyas, managing director, IGL, while confirming the development. Vedvyas added that the Delhi project was 10 years old and the company had already invested Rs 750 crore in it. “There is no need to reserve Rs 400 crore for the Delhi project from our net worth,” he said.

The PNGRB had invited bids for six cities in the first round of the city gas distribution project. Seven cities would be offered in the second round. The net worth norm would prevent IGL from bidding for a large number of cities.IGL is also working towards expanding its gas retail network to other cities of the national capital region (NCR), namely Noida (including Greater Noida), Gurgaon and Faridabad. The company plans to lay a natural gas pipeline grid in these cities to set up CNG stations and provide piped natural gas (PNG) to domestic, commercial and industrial sectors.

APTEL has fixed April 5 as the next date of hearing in the case.