EESL, PNGRB ink pact to deploy smart domestic PNG meters

New Delhi: State-owned Energy Efficiency Services and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board have inked an initial pact to accelerate the deployment of smart domestic piped natural gas meters.

The collaboration aims to create a structured ecosystem to accelerate adoption of smart domestic piped natural gas (PNG) meters by bringing together CGD entities, technology providers, manufacturers, system integrators and other relevant stakeholders, a statement said.

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According to the statement on Thursday, the Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) and Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) have signed an MoU to facilitate demand aggregation and enable the large-scale deployment of smart domestic PNG meters across the City Gas Distribution (CGD) sector.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Anjan Kumar Mishra, Secretary, PNGRB, and Akhilesh Kumar Dixit, CEO, EESL.

Under the MoU, PNGRB will facilitate the initiative from the regulatory and sectoral perspective by sharing information relating to standards, certification, regulatory developments and conformity assessment and inspection in smart domestic PNG metering.

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PNGRB will also facilitate stakeholder consultations and interactions, and leverage EESL's project development and implementation experience to support large-scale smart meter deployment across CGDs.

EESL will undertake demand aggregation for domestic PNG smart meters and leverage its industry expertise, technical capabilities and stakeholder network to facilitate coordination among CGD entities and the smart metering ecosystem.

It will also undertake market assessments, technical evaluations, and explore competitive procurement, price discovery and suitable models for supply, installation, operation and maintenance of smart domestic PNG meters.

Currently, it has implemented more than 44.5 lakh smart meters across Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Delhi, Rajasthan, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and is also responsible for their operation and maintenance for 8-10 years.

The collaboration is expected to help create a more coordinated and efficient approach towards the adoption of smart domestic PNG metering, while promoting standardisation, interoperability, innovation and efficient implementation across the CGD sector.