End of exclusivity period will ensure fair play in gas pipeline business

The PNGRB is now taking careful ste­ps to draft regulations on how to end the exclusivity and the subsequent issues of tariff and sharing of the existing infrastructure

The chequered history of disputes between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Bo­ard (PNGRB) and government and private players in the city gas distribution (CGD) business may be a thing of past, but Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL), Ma­hanagar Gas Ltd (MGL), Gujarat Gas and, to some extent, the Adanis are facing the regulatory heat again. And, yet again, the issue of ending the exclusivity period for these operators is a reason for unease. The only difference is that this time, both the regulator and the gas companies are better placed to deal with the issue.

Under the Petroleum and Natural