Gujarat Gas has scored a legal victory over Saint Gobain, the French multinational which manufactures glass. Saint Gobain sought and got the approval of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) to use Gujarat Gas’ gas transportation network after the “period of exclusivity” allowed to Gujarat Gas expired, but before Gujarat Gas’ pipeline network had been declared as ‘common carrier’ by the regulatory board.
In May 2016, PNGRB had said that the city gas distribution network Gujarat Gas has not been declared a common carrier network and that regulations will have to be formulated in order to determine the tariff in respect of access to the network. Regardless, it ordered Gujarat Gas to provide access to Saint Gobain “on non-discriminatory basis for transportation of natural gas to its manufacturing plant at Jhagadia.”
The Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL), set aside PNGRB’s order, saying: “Only after declaration of the pipeline as common carrier /contract carrier, PNGRB is empowered to determine the transportation rate of a CGD network for a third-party access. PNGRB is not empowered to determine the transportation rate of a CGD network for the authorised entity until it is declared as common carrier or contract carrier which could only be done after following the procedure laid down in Section 20 of the PNGRB Act.”
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