Introducing competition was necessary for market efficiency and increased consumer benefit, the person said.PNGRB is unlikely to terminate all eligible monopolies in one go. “The regulator will pick one or two cases in the beginning as test cases,” the person said. “Obviously, there will be challenges by the affected companies and that will have to be overcome, which will also make the process more robust.”The regulator’s attempts at ending monopoly in previous years failed as distributors relied on the absence of a regulatory framework to stonewall such a move. But third-party entities can install new CNG stations, which will be permitted firm access by licensees. CNG stations shall receive natural gas only through the city gas network of the authorised entity.The license holder shall declare on its website its own requirement and the capacity allocated on a firm contract basis which may be verified by the PNGRB every month or at any other intervals the board desires, as per the draft.

Source: Economic Times February 16, 2020 21:45 UTC