The Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) has filed a petition challenging the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (CERC) July 23, 2025 order on phased implementation of market coupling across power exchanges in India.
Market coupling refers to aggregation and matching of buy and sell bids across all exchanges and trading platforms, leading to the discovery of a single uniform price of electricity. CERC had mandated the process to be introduced gradually, aiming to streamline power market efficiency.
IEX, in its petition under Section 66 of the Electricity Act, 2003 and Regulation 25 of the Power Market Regulations, 2021, also sought approval for the introduction of the Peak Day Ahead Market (Peak DAM) and Peak Real Time Market (Peak RTM). These proposed products are designed to cater to rising peak-hour electricity demand, giving both buyers and sellers additional flexibility.
The appeal comes amid growing debate within the sector on whether market coupling would dilute the autonomy of exchanges and affect competition. IEX, the country’s leading power exchange, has expressed concerns about potential operational and market risks arising from the mechanism.
The matter is now under consideration, with further hearings expected to determine the framework for implementation.
