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CERC Sets January 2026 Deadline for Day-Ahead Market Coupling Across Power Exchanges

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has mandated the phased implementation of market coupling in India’s power exchanges, beginning with the Day-Ahead Market (DAM) by January 2026. The move aims to achieve uniform price discovery, improve transmission network utilization, and enhance market efficiency. The DAM coupling will operate in a round-robin format among the three existing power exchanges—Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), Power Exchange India Ltd (PXIL), and Hindustan Power Exchange (HPX)—with Grid-India serving as a backup and audit Market Coupling Operator (MCO).

The directive follows a shadow pilot by Grid-India, which demonstrated a Rs380 million welfare gain (0.3%) and an increase of 52 million units (MU) in cleared volume (0.2%), with minimal impact on market prices. Real-Time Market (RTM) coupling yielded marginal gains of Rs7.2 million and a 1.54 MU increase in volume. The RTM–Security Constrained Economic Dispatch (SCED) model showed greater optimization potential, achieving daily net savings of Rs14 million, despite a Rs1/MWh increase in average costs due to demand conditions.

While DAM coupling is prioritized, RTM coupling has been deferred for future implementation, and RTM-SCED will undergo further stakeholder consultations due to its complexity. CERC also instructed Grid-India to develop software for a new shadow pilot for the Term-Ahead Market (TAM), including contingency contracts. A three-month pilot will follow, with a feedback report due thereafter.

CERC staff have been tasked with initiating necessary regulatory amendments, and all power exchanges are required to share operational data with Grid-India to facilitate a smooth rollout of market coupling. The initiative forms part of a broader reform to strengthen India’s competitive power market landscape.