The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has proposed 44 new geographical areas for the upcoming 11th round of bidding for city gas distribution (CGD). According to the new tentative list, the highest number of CGD areas will fall in Tamil Nadu (eight), to be followed by Maharashtra (seven) and Madhya Pradesh (six). At present, the CGD network covers 232 geographical areas spread over 407 districts in 27 states.
Under the ninth and 10th rounds of bidding for CGD networks, the numbers of CNG stations and domestic piped natural gas (PNG) connections are expected to increase by 8,181 and 4.2 crore, respectively, in the next 8-10 years. The present share of gas in the energy basket of the country is 6.2%, and the target is to take it to 15% by 2030.
