In order to end the marketing monopoly of city gas providers,The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has inducted consultants.
In a public notice it said, it “intends to declare the end of the exclusivity period” for several city gas distribution networks and invited suggestions and objections within three weeks from all stakeholders likely to be affected by the decision.
Currently, distribution in each city or geographical area is a monopoly.
Following a consultative process with all stakeholders, the PNGRB will take a final call on ending the exclusivity. “We will have to balance the interests of consumers and distributors,” said a senior official at PNGRB. While ending monopoly will help customers, distributors may argue fiercely for its continuance to protect their margins.
The official didn’t give a timeframe for a final decision on this, saying everything would depend on the quality of participation in the consultative process. The cities for which the process has been initiated include Kota, Dewas, Kakinada, Sonipat, Meerut, Mathura, Bareilly, Pune, Indore, Firozabad, Hyderabad, Agra, Gandhinagar, Anand, Surat and Bharuch.
Piped gas consumers can expect market competition among suppliers as the monopoly of city gas firms in Mumbai, Delhi and about 20 other cities is likely to end.
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