Mon Mar 31 08:55:23 UTC 2025: **India to Slash Natural Gas Prices for Households and Transportation**
**New Delhi, March 31, 2025** – The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) announced a major policy shift aimed at boosting natural gas consumption and reducing prices for consumers. The regulator proposed a new tariff system for natural gas pipelines, significantly lowering costs for piped natural gas (PNG) used in households and compressed natural gas (CNG) used in transportation.
Under the new proposal, CNG and domestic PNG users will be charged the lowest tariff rate, regardless of their distance from the gas source. This change addresses the previous system where tariffs increased with distance from the source, disproportionately affecting consumers in more remote areas. The PNGRB cites this move as a key step in making natural gas more competitive with liquid fuels.
The new system simplifies the zonal tariff structure from three zones to two, with a reduced rate for the primary zone. The proposal also includes incentives for isolated network operators and mechanisms for sharing cost savings with consumers and pipeline operators. These measures are intended to stimulate investment in gas infrastructure, particularly in underserved regions.
India aims to significantly expand its natural gas infrastructure by 2030, with targets of 120 million domestic PNG connections and 17,500 CNG stations. Currently, the country has 14 million PNG connections and 7,395 CNG stations. The PNGRB anticipates a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10% in city gas distribution (CGD) by 2040.
The PNGRB has opened a public consultation process to gather feedback on the proposed changes before final implementation. This latest initiative follows previous amendments in 2020 and 2022 designed to improve gas infrastructure and consumption in remote areas. The implementation of a Unified Tariff system in 2023 laid the groundwork for this latest reform.
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