Indraprastha Gas (IGL) hearing in the high court against the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has been adjourned to May 8, 2012. The monopoly supplier of compressed natural gas in Delhi/NCR has filed a petition in the court against the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB)’s verdict to regulate its network tariff and selling price.
PNGRB, in its order on April 9, had not only fixed the charges with retrospective effect from April 1, 2008 but had also ordered IGL to refund extra money, charged by it, to customers since 2008. The regulatory board has fixed IGL's pipeline network transportation tariff at Rs 38.58 per million metric British thermal unit (mmBtu) as against Rs 104.05 per mmBtu proposed by IGL. The order, if implemented, with retrospective effect, may hit IGL by Rs 1,000 crore.
However, the company has filed a petition alleging PNGRB for usurping the state function by misinterpreting the legal provisions. The company is of the view that oil and gas regulator lacked the power to fix network tariff and compression charge for PNG and CNG, which, in any case, cannot be exercised with 'retrospective' effect. However, even if assumed that such power existed, then the price fixation has to be implemented with prospective effect.
IGL currently charges a network tariff of Rs 104.05 per MMBTU (million British thermal Units). In addition, it also levies compression charges at Rs 6.66 per kg for compressed natural gas (CNG).
