PNGRB Proposes Up to 5% Hydrogen in Household Piped Gas: How Blending Works and Why It Matters
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), India's regulator for the gas sector, has released draft guidelines for supplying hydrogen-blended natural gas through domestic piped natural gas (D-PNG) networks, the pipes that bring cooking gas to homes.
Under the draft, no commercial supply may contain more than 5.0% hydrogen (by volume). The regulator stressed that 5% is the maximum ceiling, not the normal operating target. Gas companies must run at a lower setpoint with a safety margin, so that hydrogen stays below 5% even during start-ups, shutdowns, low or peak demand and disturbances.
Companies must monitor hydrogen concentration continuously and must have automatic protective shut-offs if readings fail or go outside approved limits.
The first rollouts will be limited to small areas fed by a single injection point, and each distributor needs specific PNGRB approval. PNGRB can lower the setpoint, suspend supply, or order a return to plain natural gas if problems arise.
The draft does not cover CNG for vehicles, high-pressure transmission pipelines, pure hydrogen supply, refuelling, or non-domestic PNG.
It builds on pilot projects that PNGRB has cleared since 2021 in Indore, Kawas (Surat), Jorhat, Ahmedabad and Gorakhpur.
Hydrogen Blending in Natural Gas: Mixing Hydrogen into City Gas Pipelines
Hydrogen blending means mixing a small amount of hydrogen gas into natural gas and sending the mixture through the existing gas pipes. Homes, hotels and factories then burn this mix just as they burn normal gas. Because hydrogen produces only water when it burns, and no carbon dioxide (CO2), the mix releases a little less CO2 than pure natural gas. It is one of the simplest first steps for countries that want to start using hydrogen without building a whole new pipeline network.
The PNGRB draft is the first general framework for hydrogen blending in household gas in India, moving beyond one-off pilot approvals. By setting 5% as a strict ceiling with continuous monitoring, the regulator is choosing the cautious path that the pilots in Indore and Kawas have shown to be safe.
National Green Hydrogen Mission (2023)
The National Green Hydrogen Mission is the Government of India's main programme to make India a global hub for producing, using and exporting green hydrogen. Green hydrogen is hydrogen made by splitting water with electricity from renewable sources like solar and wind, so almost no carbon dioxide is released. The Union Cabinet approved the Mission on 4 January 2023 with an initial budget of ₹19,744 crore. Its main target is to build the capacity to produce at least 5 million metric tonnes (MMT) of green hydrogen a year by 2030.
The Mission needs buyers inside India for the green hydrogen it hopes to produce. Blending a small share into household piped gas, as PNGRB now proposes, is one such use, and the Mission's pilot-project funds have supported this kind of early testing.
Gas-Based Economy: India's Natural Gas Target
A gas-based economy means a country where natural gas supplies a large share of the energy used by homes, vehicles, factories and power plants. India wants to raise the share of natural gas in its energy mix to 15% by 2030, because gas is cleaner than coal and oil. Piped gas to homes (PNG) and CNG for vehicles, supplied through City Gas Distribution (CGD) networks, are a key part of this plan, and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) regulates these networks.
As PNGRB is the regulator of CGD networks, its safety rules decide what can flow through household gas pipes. The 5% hydrogen ceiling is PNGRB using that power to let a cleaner fuel into the gas-based economy without risking consumer safety.
- PNGRB draft guidelines: hydrogen in domestic PNG capped at 5.0% by volume; 5% is a ceiling, not the routine target
- Requirements: continuous hydrogen monitoring, automatic shut-offs, initial rollout in small single-injection-point areas, specific PNGRB approval
- Excluded: CNG, automotive use, transmission pipelines, pure hydrogen, refuelling, deblending, non-domestic PNG
- First Indian blending pilot: GAIL, Indore (2%, began January 2022)
- Other pilots: Kawas, Surat (5%, later 8%), Jorhat (2%), Ahmedabad (5%), Gorakhpur (2%), Avantika Gas Indore (5%)
- National Green Hydrogen Mission: approved 4 January 2023, outlay ₹19,744 crore, target 5 MMT/year by 2030
- Green Hydrogen Standard: ≤ 2 kg CO2e/kg H2
- PNGRB Act: 2006; gas share target: 15% by 2030