GAIL share price plunges 6.5%. Why is the Maharatna PSU stock falling despite hike in tariffs?

GAIL share price: Shares of Maharatna public sector undertaking (PSU) GAIL (India) Limited tanked 6.5% in early trade on Friday, November 28, after the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) approved a tariff hike that came in below both market expectations and the company’s own proposal, denting investor sentiment.After several months of delay, PNGRB has announced a 12% hike in tariffs for GAIL’s integrated natural gas pipeline (INGPL), with effect from January 2026. However, this hike is below expectations of 15% and well below the 33% hike that GAIL was seeking.PNGRB has, however, clarified that in order to smooth out tariff hike and to avoid a sudden increase, it has decided to provide only interim relief to GAIL for now and will fully reflect adjustments to all other parameters in the next tariff review in FY28.The current hike in tariffs reflects a revision in only two parameters, said UBS: an increase of ₹5.16/mmbtu on account of higher system-use-gas (SUG), and an increase of ₹1.92/mmbtu on account of lower volume divisor as per the latest capacity determination.The brokerage further noted that the hike of 12% does not mean an equal increase in realised tariffs, and that figure could be lower.More to come...