Government of India has set the target of 15% gas-based economy by 2030 and licenses have been issued for City Gas Distribution (CGD) in urban areas in 407 districts spread across 28 States and Union Territories that cover about 70% of the population of the country. To create a collaboration platform between the CGD companies and electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs), India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) and Natural Gas Society (NGS) have jointly promoted India CGD Forum. There are many similarities between the work of electricity and gas distribution companies and there is immense scope for sharing of assets both physical and digital assets. Sharing of GIS maps, common billing and collection systems, common call centres, sharing of last mile connectivity for network automation and smart metering etc. Policy makers and regulators from both the domains can also share their experiences and challenges. The India CGD Forum was launched on 04th March, 2021 during India Smart Utility Week (ISUW 2021) www.isuw.in. This forum promotes the initiatives of Government of India towards the gas-based economy. Tarun Kapoor, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) is the honorary Chairperson of India CGD Forum.
Besides promoting collaboration between CGD companies and DISCOMS, this Forum will come up with customized training programs, workshops and conferences on City Gas Distribution. This Forum will also ensure the Collaboration amongst all stakeholders and will create research reports, technical reports, white paper on latest technologies and practices in the CGD Sector.
A webinar on ‘Collaboration between City Gas Distribution and Electricity Distribution Companies to Accelerate Transition to Gas based Economy’ is scheduled on 15th July, 2021 from 15:00 hrs to17:00 hrs IST. A web portal for India CGD Forum will be launched at this webinar on 15th July 2021.
