India has set the target of 15 percent gas-based economy by 2030 and licenses have been issued for City Gas Distribution (CGD) entities covering more than 70 % of the country’s population, including 407 districts spread across 28 States and Union Territories. India CGD Forum can help the new entities in City Gas Distribution to jump-start their operations in new towns by collaborating with respective electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs) for customer data and sharing certain infrastructure and resources.
CGD Companies and Discoms have similar opportunity and challenges in dealing with millions of customers and handling regulatory challenges and statutory compliances in restricted corridor of roads and lanes in the town. They also have to address similar customer behaviour and defaulters. There are many services which are similar in nature in Discoms and CGD Companies distribution like periodic metering, billing, customer support etc. which are areas for collaboration between CGD Companies and DISCOMs that will significantly reduce the cost of business for both. They could also leverage each other’s assets and customer data and GIS maps. A good collaboration will lead to less damage to each other’s property while carrying out repairs and maintenance and will also improve customer experience.
To support the collaboration amongst the CGD Companies and DISCOMs, India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) and Natural Gas Society (NGS) are closely working to provide a platform to bring innovation and smartness into India’s CGD Business. Policy makers and regulators from both the domains (electricity and gas) can also share their experiences and challenges.
In order to bring various technology interventions and provide information and best practices to stake holders in the CGD domain, ISGF and NGS have launched the India CGD Forum under the Honorary Chairmanship of Shri Tarun Kapoor, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG). The India CGD Forum was officially launched on 04th March, 2021 during India Smart Utility Week (ISUW 2021) www.isuw.in This Forum will start promoting the initiatives of Government of India towards the gas-based economy.
India CGD Forum will also undertake the following initiatives
- Development of the India CGD Portal
- Collaboration between CGD Companies and DISCOM’s
- Training Programs for CGD Companies
- Development of Online stake holder network of Gas Ecosystem through social media platforms
- Research reports, technical reports and White paper on latest Technologies and practices in CGD Sector
Membership in India CGD Forum:
- There is no Membership Fee for joining the India CGD Forum
- All members of ISGF and NGS will be invited to join India CGD Forum as Members
- Others who wish to join India CGD Forum, can register for membership at: https://bit.ly/3sZynZw
For more information about the forum and its membership, please write to: Aashima@indiasmartgrid.org.
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