India: Oil Regulator requested to Draft Guidelines on Pipelines by APTEL

Hearing a petition filed by Anil Ambani group firm Reliance Fuel Resource Ltd, an Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) bench headed by Justice Anil Dev Singh directed the regulator to submit a date by when it would approve the transmission regulation for fuel pipelines.

Reliance Fuel Resource Ltd, which is seeking a license for laying pipelines from KG basin to its upcoming power plant at Dadri in Utter Pradesh, has filed the petition against PNGRB direction that the company has to apply afresh in compliance with new regulations.

The direction was given in the absence of any existing regulations.

Meanwhile, admitting an 'action taken report' submitted by PNGRB over progress toward issuance of guidelines, the tribunal directed the regulator to frame the regulation on transmission and report back to it on May 6.

Earlier, on April 8 the tribunal had directed the PNGRB headed by Lalit Mansingh to submit a report on the progress on setting the guidelines.

During the proceedings, the tribunal, however, expressed pleasure over PNGRB's statement in the report that the remaining regulations were only a matter of some time.

"We are happy now with this action taken report. We only want thing should be in a proper way," said the bench.

However, the tribunal declined PNGRB's request to dispose of Reliance Fuel's petition. The regulator said that most of the company's demands would be completed when the regulations are set.

PetrolWorld 210408