PNGRB extends bidding dates for CGD in Pune, 13 other cities

Last date for bidding has been extended from February 11 to May 12

Oil regulator PNGRB has extended the last date of bidding for licences to retail CNG and piped cooking gas in 14 cities, including Bengaluru and Pune, by three months to May 12.

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) had in September last year invited bids for development of city gas distribution (CGD) networks in Eranakulam in Kerala; Rangareddy/ Medak, Nalgonda and Khammam in Andhra Pradesh; Bengaluru rural and urban districts in Karnataka; Raigarh, Pune and Thane in Maharashtra; Daman; Dadar & Nagar Haveli; Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh; Guna in Madhya Pradesh; Panipat in Haryana and Amritsar in Punjab.      "Keeping in view the requests received from various entities, the time schedule of the bid has been revised," PNGRB said in a notice.

The last date for sale of bid document has been extended from February 4 to May 5 and the last date for bidding from February 11 to May 12, it said.      Bidders have been asked to quote the tariff they will charge for the pipeline network to be laid in the city and the compression charge for dispensing CNG (compressed natural gas) over the 25 years.

They have also been asked to quote the inch-kilometre of steel pipelines they will lay during first five years and the number of domestic consumers proposed to be connected by piped natural gas, according to the regulator.

The cities offered for bidding include those that PNGRB had offered in the fourth CGD round in September 2010.

The regulator had however cancelled the round in November 2011.

In the fourth round licences for Ernakulam in Kerala; Rangareddy/Medak, Nalgonda and Khammam in Andhra Pradesh; Alibag/Pen and Lonavala/Khapoli in Maharashtra; Guna in Madhya Pradesh and Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh were offered.

PNGRB had invited bids for licences in 2009 for 13 cities in first two rounds.

GAIL Gas Ltd walked away with four of the six cities offered in the round one.

It won Sonepat in Haryana, Dewas in Madhya Pradesh, Meerut in Uttar Pradesh and Kota in Rajasthan while Bhagyanagar Gas Ltd got Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh and DSM Infratech Mathura in Uttar Pradesh.

In round two, Indian Oil Corp-Adani Group combine walked away with Allahabad and Chandigarh, while Reliance Gas got Rajahmundry, Shahdol and Yanam in Andhra Pradesh. Jhansi went to Central UP Gas Ltd.

The third round of bidding was opened in July 2010 and concluded in February 2011 (after extension), but final awards of most cities are yet to be made because of certain litigation involving PNGRB and a few other parties.

City-based Jay Madhok Energy won rights to Jalandhar city, according to PNGRB.