At the FICCI City Gas Distribution Summit 2024, Gajendra Singh, a member of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), underscored the regulator?s dedication to expanding gas accessibility across India. "Our objective is to ensure gas availability for all consumers, including those using Piped Natural Gas (PNG), industrial and commercial sectors, and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)," Singh stated.

The city gas distribution (CGD) sector has seen significant progress, with national gas consumption rising from 86 million metric standard cubic metres per day (MMSCMD) in 2007 to 189 MMSCMD today. Correspondingly, the national gas pipeline network has expanded from 14,000 km in 2018 to 24,000 km.

This growth is largely driven by increased industrial and commercial use of Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG), and CNG infrastructure has also expanded, with the number of CNG stations rising from 280 in 2006 to 7,000 in 2024.

However, challenges persist, particularly in the adoption of PNG for domestic use, which currently has 13.1 million connections. Singh acknowledged the difficulties in replacing LPG with PNG due to consumer hesitancy and connection costs. To address these issues, PNGRB is working with state governments to resolve tax discrepancies and infrastructure hurdles. "We are discussing ways to reduce taxes with state officials," Singh noted.

Singh assured that there are no significant supply constraints, with a balanced mix of 52% domestic gas and 48% RLNG meeting current demand. Insights from Deepak Mahurkar, Partner-Fuels & Resources at PwC India, highlighted that customer economics, primarily cost, drive gas adoption. He emphasised the government's dual objectives of boosting gas consumption and lowering supply chain carbon costs.

The summit also introduced a joint FICCI-PwC Knowledge Paper titled ?Charting the Path Forward in CGD: Emerging Trends and Insights,? which offers an in-depth analysis of the sector?s challenges and opportunities in natural gas adoption.

(ET)