There was a recent Supreme Court verdict (May 7) that essentially ruled that natural gas is owned by the government until it reaches the end consumer. This led to the speculation that the government in its enthusiasm will try to micromanage terms of sales of natural gas to all sorts of end users.
A government official has however clarified that, while it has the power to do so, the government will not try to decide terms for small consumers (usage less than 50,000 cu m per day). These consumers typically include small power plants, commercial establishments and hotels.
Gas distributors such as Indraprastha and Mahanagar Gas can from now on decide on their own their end consumers, as well as add extra costs as the situation warrants.
I had kept repeating that natural gas will be one of the main stories in the energy arena – not just in India, but in many parts of the world, particularly the United States. Such positive developments (government not butting in its head is ALWAYS a positive development) will not doubt only make the natural gas market more interesting and dynamic.
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