REGULATORY NOD FOR IGX TO RUN GAS EXCHANGE FOR 25 YEARS

NEW DELHI: The Indian Energy Exchange on Thursday said its arm, Indian Gas Exchange (IGX), has secured authorisation from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) to operate as a Gas Exchange.

IGX is India’s first automated delivery-based gas trading platform.

IGX has secured the necessary authorisation to operate as a Gas Exchange as per the provisions of the PNGRB (Gas Exchange) Regulations, 2020 for a period of 25 years, an Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) statement said.

According to the statement, the regulations were notified by the PNGRB on September 28, 2020. IGX had submitted its application for authorisation on October 8.

“With this development, IGX has become the first regulated gas exchange in the country. The exchange will play an instrumental role in transparent discovery of gas prices, accelerate investments in the value chain, aid in capacity utilization of pipelines as well as boost consumer confidence and in turn increasing gas demand in the country,” PNGRB chairperson DK Sarraf said.

India is eyeing to increase the share of gas in its overall energy mix from 6% to 15% by 2030.

“This is a landmark development not just for IGX but for the overall gas sector and economy at large. The market mechanism will create competitive markets to benefit the end consumers with competitively priced gas and cost-effective price signals, will facilitate demand growth thereby leading to development and investments in upstream and downstream parts of the value chain,” S N Goel, chairman IEX and director, IGX said in the statement.

Goel added that as a regulated entity, the IGX is poised to further establish and reinforce greater trust and credibility among market participants.

The IGX is incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of the IEX. Since its launch on June 15, 2020, the platform has cumulatively traded 74,600 metric million British thermal unit.