New Delhi, Dec 11 (NationPress) The government has implemented several initiatives to boost the availability of natural gas for power generation. These actions include the expansion of the National Gas Grid, which connects domestic gas sources and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals to power plants, as informed to Parliament on Thursday.

Among the measures outlined by Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Suresh Gopi, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, are the introduction of a unified tariff, the establishment of LNG terminals, and enabling domestic gas producers with pricing and marketing freedom to sell up to 500 million standard cubic metres (mmscm) or 10% of their annual production from their contract area, whichever is greater, annually through gas exchanges authorized by the PNGRB.

He also mentioned that the government has categorized LNG under the Open General Licence (OGL), allowing buyers to import LNG freely based on mutually agreed terms with suppliers.

Furthermore, the government has eliminated customs duties on LNG imports used for electricity generation by companies defined under section 2(28) of the Electricity Act, 2003 (36 of 2003) for supplying energy to the grid.

Gas-based power plants have the liberty to import LNG, generate electricity, and sell it to consumers, the Minister stated.

In addition, the government is pursuing various strategies to increase the proportion of Natural Gas in the primary energy mix. These strategies include the expansion of the National Gas Grid Pipeline, the growth of the City Gas Distribution (CGD) network, the establishment of LNG terminals, prioritizing domestic gas allocation for Compressed Natural Gas, and allowing marketing and pricing freedom with a ceiling for gas produced from high-pressure, high-temperature areas, deep water, ultra-deep water, and coal seams. The Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiatives aim to promote Compressed Biogas (CBG).