Thu Jul 24 04:10:00 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary and news article based on the provided text:
**Summary:**
The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) is implementing a “market coupling” system for the day-ahead market segment of all power exchanges in India. This aims to create a unified electricity price across exchanges, enhance market efficiency, and facilitate the integration of renewable energy. The move will likely reduce the dominance of the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) in price discovery and impact its revenue, as other exchanges will also act as market couplers. Grid-India will serve as a backup and audit operator. CERC plans to consider coupling other market segments later and has directed all power exchanges to share data for the rollout. This initiative is part of a broader effort to achieve India’s renewable energy targets.
**News Article:**
**India’s Power Market Set for Overhaul with New ‘Market Coupling’ System**
*By [Your Name/News Agency]*
**New Delhi, July 24, 2025** – India’s electricity market is poised for a significant transformation as the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) rolls out a “market coupling” model aimed at streamlining price discovery and boosting the integration of renewable energy. The move, announced in a recent order, will create a single, uniform electricity price across all power exchanges in the day-ahead market segment.
Currently, the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) dominates electricity spot price discovery. However, the new system will allow other power exchanges to act as market couplers, potentially reducing IEX’s market share and impacting its revenue.
The CERC’s decision is driven by India’s ambitious target of 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. In a 2023 draft, the CERC highlighted the need for a shift in the design of electrical systems, markets, and regulations to accommodate the increasing reliance on renewable sources. Market coupling is seen as a key mechanism to enhance liquidity in the wholesale spot market, which currently suffers from fragmentation and low liquidity (around 7%).
“Coupling presents a unique opportunity to form a bigger connected liquid and efficient marketplace to overcome many of the limitations of a fragmented market,” the CERC stated.
Under the new system, power exchanges will take turns operating as the market coupler, with Grid-India serving as a backup and audit operator. All power exchanges are required to share data with Grid-India and the CERC to ensure a smooth rollout.
The CERC plans to assess the impact of the day-ahead market coupling before considering extending the system to other market segments, such as the real-time market and the term-ahead market. This will involve further pilot runs and consultations.
The move is expected to create a more efficient and competitive electricity market, benefiting both suppliers and consumers.