The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) on October 19, 2026, proposed amendments to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (Authorizing Entities to Lay, Build, Operate or Expand City or Local Natural Gas Distribution Networks) Regulations, 2008, under Section 61 of the PNGRB Act, 2006. The draft proposes amendments to the provisions relating to Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG), exclusivity period and service obligations of authorised City Gas Distribution (CGD) entities.
The draft proposes progressive reductions in PBG upon achievement of additional Domestic PNG (DPNG) household connections beyond the Minimum Work Programme (MWP) targets, with a minimum PBG threshold of ₹10 crore. It also revises the method for calculating the exclusivity period by reference to the actual commissioning date of natural gas flow in the designated pipeline and proposes additional exclusivity extensions of one year or two years for laying additional steel pipeline beyond the assigned MWP target, subject to specified inch-kilometre thresholds and connectivity of all districts within the authorised geographical area.
Further, authorised entities may levy a registration fee not exceeding ₹1,000 from technically feasible domestic PNG customers, provided the required infrastructure is in place and the entity can provide the connection within the stipulated timeframe. The fee shall be adjusted against the interest-free, refundable security deposit collected from the customer. These are draft proposals and shall come into force only upon publication of the final regulations in the Official Gazette.
[PNGRB/Monitoring/7/Misc(12)/2024 (E-5613)]
