Gas Amendment Bill 2013 approved

19th April 2013 By: SANews, SA government news service

Cabinet has approved the Gas Amendment Bill 2013.

“This paves the way for the Bill to be published in the Gazette for public comment,” a Cabinet statement issued by the Government Communication and Information System said on Friday.

Uninterrupted supply and development of natural gas to the economy is critical.

This Amendment Bill seeks to address the loopholes, omissions and challenges experienced in the process of implementing and enforcing the Gas Act by the Department of Energy and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa.

The Bill will review compliance, monitoring and enforcement in the natural gas sector, to incorporate new transportation technologies of natural gas as well as other unconventional gases not included in the current Gas Act.

The amendments also seek to confer a statutory mandate to set, monitor, approve and regulate distribution tariffs in a prescribed and transparent manner.

It also seeks to support mobile gas storage through regulations to enhance health and safety matters.

In the Bill “Gas” means – all hydrocarbon gases (transported by pipeline), including natural gas, artificial gas, hydrogen rich gas, methane rich gas, synthetic gas, coal bed methane gas, liquefied natural gas, compressed natural gas, re-gasified liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas or any combination of these.