 "natural gas pipeline")
Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has clarified that consumer protection is a top priority for it, and the board "come down heavily" on companies failing to meet households' gas requirements for new connections or supplies, The Economic Times (ET) has reported. The chairman of PNGRB, Anil Kumar Jain, said that it will take action against companies promoting more profitable compressed natural gas (CNG) at the cost of household connections.
Jain told ET, "It's reported that the city gas distribution (CGD) licensees have been remiss in providing connectivity. In many cases, connections have been provided, but gas flow has not been initiated." He added that the board is looking into this and will soon come down heavily on City Gas Distribution (CGD) licensees.
Anil is a former coal secretary and joined the PNGRB in May. He has a doctorate in natural gas. He told ET that the board was working to widen the adoption of natural gas and involved consumers in decision-making through car fleet owners and residents' welfare associations.
Talking about the adoption of CNG-powered vehicles, Jain said that more affordable CNG rates and a better network of CNG pumps that bring an end to long queues at fuel stations can help the rapid adoption of CNG in the country, the ET report said.
Jain added, "I don't have the powers to fix (CNG) prices. But if the government is giving them (domestic gas) at a particularly cheaper price, I have a feeling that the government could examine whether it also has the remit to demand what could be the end consumer price for CNG."
Anil Jain told ET that CNG retailers have the advantage of low input cost due to the government allocation of cheap domestic gas, along with the freedom to sell the has at the market price in their respective monopoly areas. He added that CGD players sell about 20 Million Metric Standard Cubic Meters per Day (MMSCMD) of gas as CNG and 3 MMSCMD as PNG to homes, the ET report stated.
