The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has opened the 12th bidding round for city gas distribution (CGD). Under this, the oil sector regulator will offer retailing licenses for compressed natural gas (CNG) and piped natural gas (PNG) for seven geographical areas (GAs) -- Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh.

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Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Gajendra Singh, a Member of the Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory said, the latest round of licensing will cover 92 districts.

At the launch of the bidding on October 12, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said, as a result of these initiatives, the number of CNG stations is expected to grow from 5,900 to 10,000 as per commitments from companies involved in the expansion efforts.

Currently, there are 300 authorised GAs by PNGRB covering around 88% of the country's geographical area and 98% of its population.

Sourced from pib.gov.in

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On successful completion, India's entire area and population will be covered except Mizoram, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep, as per the Report by PIB Delhi.

Singh added, “Mizoram, right now because the election has been announced, we have kept it on hold but we are taking approval from the election commission if it gets through then that will also get included. So as of now, there are seven GAs but if Mizoram gets added then it will be eight GAs.”

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said 2030 is a “reasonable” timeline to expect gas to start accounting for 15% of India’s energy mix, from the current 6%odd levels.

Singh pointed out that in this new round, PNGRB has removed any geographical restrictions, allowing for a more inclusive approach to the distribution of clean energy. Also, to address the challenges posed by difficult terrains, certain rules have been relaxed for the current bidding round, making it easier for companies to participate.

Singh said, “If you see the in previous round what you mentioned, this 300 GAs, 276 GAs have already started drawing gas and there the commitment what they made up to 11 GAs that they are going to have CNG station which is right now 5900, now it is going to be 10,000 plus they have already committed”

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Companies are actively working on the expansion of distribution networks for CNG and PNG, bringing the benefits of clean energy closer to people's homes and businesses.

Singh stated, “Currently, 37,000 industrial and commercial customers are already connected, but 37,000 commercial customers, meaning the big hotels and the big places where they require the gas for cooking and the other industrial areas, are getting connected. So, that way the progress is good.”

Singh added that for PNG, the progress is slightly slow, which is not appreciable. But, he said, it is regularly being monitored and all efforts will be made to expedite it.

(Edited by : Shweta Mungre)