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New Delhi: India's power regulator has issued the draft Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Power Market) Second Amendment Regulations, 2026, proposing market coupling norms be implemented and procedures be made by a single operator Grid Controller of India Ltd (Grid India).
"Grid India shall function as market coupling operator and shall be responsible for operation and management of market coupling. For this, Grid India shall form a separate cell for discharging the functions," the amendment by the regulator said.
It also said that Grid India will formulate the 'power market coupling procedure' to implement within six months of the notification of the amendments.
Comments from stakeholders on the draft amendment have been sought by May 16.
The move is aimed at the larger idea of reshaping electricity trading through market coupling, ensuring a uniform price in different electricity markets.
The draft norms come as the first step after the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) in February dismissed a plea by Indian Energy Exchange Ltd challenging the regulator's suo moto July order to implement market coupling, stating the petition was not maintainable at that juncture as the rules on coupling were not framed. IEX currently has the largest market share among three exchanges in India, which may be impacted because of the changes proposed by the regulator, industry experts said. The company's shares fell on the news and ended 7.8% lower from the previous close at ₹125.05 on BSE.
In a reply to the stock exchanges, IEX said, "This is a regulatory consultative exercise initiated by the regulator, and not the outcome of any negotiations, arrangements, or events."
As per the draft amendments, expanded scope applies to the day-ahead market (DAM) and real-time market (RTM), which means a gradual rollout across other segments
Market coupling was first introduced formally through the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Power Market) Regulations, 2021. Thereafter, an official staff paper detailing the mechanism was released on August 21, 2023. However, the main discussion came after the regulator's order in July to start market coupling in a phased manner in the day-ahead market from January 2026, and in the real-time market after gaining operational experience. Apart from IEX, India has two other power exchanges: Power Exchange India and Hindustan Power Exchange.
Industry experts said a uniform price discovery mechanism may reduce the competitive advantages of the leading exchange. IEX had in its petition to APTEL argued that redistribution of market share would be the only outcome of market coupling.
As per its petition, the commission's order to implement market coupling upended the regulatory framework of the multi-exchange model that had evolved over 17 years, without considering its impact and in the absence of any evidence of its benefits.
"Grid India shall function as market coupling operator and shall be responsible for operation and management of market coupling. For this, Grid India shall form a separate cell for discharging the functions," the amendment by the regulator said.
It also said that Grid India will formulate the 'power market coupling procedure' to implement within six months of the notification of the amendments.
Comments from stakeholders on the draft amendment have been sought by May 16.
The move is aimed at the larger idea of reshaping electricity trading through market coupling, ensuring a uniform price in different electricity markets.
Regulator aims to ensure uniform powerpricing across markets
The draft norms come as the first step after the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) in February dismissed a plea by Indian Energy Exchange Ltd challenging the regulator's suo moto July order to implement market coupling, stating the petition was not maintainable at that juncture as the rules on coupling were not framed. IEX currently has the largest market share among three exchanges in India, which may be impacted because of the changes proposed by the regulator, industry experts said. The company's shares fell on the news and ended 7.8% lower from the previous close at ₹125.05 on BSE.
In a reply to the stock exchanges, IEX said, "This is a regulatory consultative exercise initiated by the regulator, and not the outcome of any negotiations, arrangements, or events."
As per the draft amendments, expanded scope applies to the day-ahead market (DAM) and real-time market (RTM), which means a gradual rollout across other segments
Market coupling was first introduced formally through the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Power Market) Regulations, 2021. Thereafter, an official staff paper detailing the mechanism was released on August 21, 2023. However, the main discussion came after the regulator's order in July to start market coupling in a phased manner in the day-ahead market from January 2026, and in the real-time market after gaining operational experience. Apart from IEX, India has two other power exchanges: Power Exchange India and Hindustan Power Exchange.
Industry experts said a uniform price discovery mechanism may reduce the competitive advantages of the leading exchange. IEX had in its petition to APTEL argued that redistribution of market share would be the only outcome of market coupling.
As per its petition, the commission's order to implement market coupling upended the regulatory framework of the multi-exchange model that had evolved over 17 years, without considering its impact and in the absence of any evidence of its benefits.
