New Delhi: The Union government on Tuesday invoked the Essential Commodities Act through a Gazette notification titled Natural Gas (Supply Regulation) Order, 2026, amid concerns over potential supply shortages triggered by the ongoing Iran–US-Israel conflict in West Asia.
The notification establishes a priority framework for natural gas supply across sectors to ensure availability for critical uses during supply disruptions.
Under the order, the government outlined four priority sectors where gas supply will be regulated and ensured.
Priority sector 1 mandates 100 percent supply for essential uses including domestic piped natural gas (PNG), compressed natural gas (CNG) for transport, LPG shrinkage requirements, as well as pipeline compressor fuel and other essential operational requirements of gas pipelines.
Priority sector 2 requires fertiliser plants to receive natural gas supply equivalent to 70 percent of their past six-month average consumption, subject to operational availability.
Priority sector 3 directs gas marketing entities to maintain supply to tea industries, manufacturing units and other industrial consumers connected to the national gas grid at 80 percent of their past six-month average consumption.
Priority sector 4 states that all City Gas Distribution (CGD) entities must ensure that industrial and commercial consumers supplied through their networks receive 80 percent of their past six-month average gas consumption.
The notification applies to all entities involved in the production, import, marketing, transportation or supply of natural gas. These include companies such as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Reliance Industries (RIL), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), and GAIL India Limited, as well as LNG terminal operators, natural gas pipeline operators and city gas distribution companies.
The move comes as disruptions in West Asia energy supply chains have raised concerns over the availability of natural and petroleum gas in India, which relies significantly on imports from the region to meet domestic demand.
The government’s decision to invoke the Essential Commodities Act aims to ensure that critical sectors, particularly household fuel supply and transport gas remain protected even if global energy supply disruptions intensify.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
Also Read: Ghost of the Commodities Controller—why India’s new financial law feels like the 1970s