The Petroleum and Natural Gas regulatory Board (PNGRB) is expected to release a unified gas tariff framework to reduce cost of transportation of gas soon. The industry player such as GAIL (India) Limited and Gujarat State Petronet Limited have opposed the proposal stating that the move will result in cross subsidisation with clients near sources of gases, leading them to pay more for gas transport costs. However, the studies by PNGRB suggest that the hike in tariff for such customers would not be substantial.
The new framework proposes a relatively simple structure for tariffs wherein a single rate will be levied for transportation of gas on the same pipeline network within 300 km and beyond, irrespective of the number of pipelines used to transport gas.
The rationalisation of cost is expected to impact the companies for which the exclusivity period for marketing has ended, including Indraprastha Gas Limited, Mahanagar Gas Limited and Gujarat Gas Limited. However, as per PNGRB, the increase in sale volumes will further rationalise the tariffs for the companies.