Crisil has been appointed as the consultant to formalise regulations that will govern the country’s natural gas trading hub. A Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) official told BusinessLine that the decision was taken earlier this month. The PNGRB had sought bids in April from consultants to develop the regulatory framework to develop and operationalise the gas trading hub/exchange in the country. An official aware of the thinking in the government said, “The gas trading hub is likely to operate like the spot power market that is already operational in the country. It will act as a demand and supply aggregator and the price of gas will be averaged out accordingly.”

The Oil Industry Development Board had already appointed KPMG to propose the physical location of this exchange.

Sources said Crisil has 18 weeks to firm up its proposals for the gas exchange. The PNGRB is also expected to become the regulator of this gas exchange. Its role will be akin to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (CERC) in the spot power exchanges.