The Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) traded 347 million units (MU) of renewable energy in January 2023, an increase of 24% year-over-year (YoY). However, the volume declined by 8% month-over-month (MoM) compared to the 377 MU traded in December 2022.

The green energy traded in the market includes Green Day-Ahead Market (GDAM) and Green Term-Ahead Market (GTAM).

The exchange traded 8,639 MU of energy during the month, including renewable energy certificate (REC) trades equivalent to 395 MU. This was a 0.13% YoY decrease compared to 8,650 MU traded during the same period last year and a 2.2% MoM increase.

The volume traded was the highest recorded during the current fiscal year. This was primarily driven by the improving supply side conditions with gradually increasing coal supply and easing e-auction coal prices.

IEX, in its statement, said that they expect the clearing price at the Exchange to go lower in the coming months, given the government’s initiatives to improve coal inventory at the power plants. This would provide further cost optimization opportunities for power distribution companies (DISCOMs) and open access consumers resulting in higher volumes on the Exchange.

According to the power demand data published by the National Load Dispatch Center, the energy met in the country during January was at 126 BU, increasing 13% on a YoY basis.

Green Market: Day-Ahead and Term-Ahead

During the month, the GDAM trade amounted to 286 MU of energy volume with a weighted average price of ₹6.30 (~$0.076)/kWh, an 18.6% increase MoM. The market saw participation from 208 entities, with the highest number of participants in a single day at 154 on January 25.

The weighted average price also saw a 16% MoM increase in the GDAM from ₹5.24 (~$0.063)/ kWh in December 2022 and a 50% YoY increase.

The GTAM market achieved 61 MU volume with an average monthly price of ₹6.22 (~$0.075)/kWh for non-solar and ₹8.19 (~$0.099)/kWh for hydropower.

The average monthly price for non-solar was up by 12% MoM and 41% MoM for hydropower.

Electricity Market: Day-Ahead, Term-Ahead, and Real-Time Market

The volume of energy traded in the Day-Ahead market (DAM) decreased to 4,893 MU in January, a 2% MoM decrease and a 7% YoY decline. The Exchange attributed the reduction to the high prices resulting from a constrained supply scenario, which led to the high spot e-auction coal prices during the month.

The Real-Time Electricity Market achieved 2,102 MU volume registering a 19% MoM and 33% YoY growth. The market saw participation from 707 entities during the month.

The Term-Ahead Market (TAM), which includes intra-day, contingency, daily, and weekly contracts, and contracts up to three months, traded 902 MU during the month, a huge surge of 131% YoY and 10% MoM basis.

The TAM has displayed consistent performance during the last few months compared to the same periods last year.

Renewable Energy Certificate Market

A total of 395,000 RECs were cleared during the trading session on January 27, as compared to 1.13 million RECs traded during the same period last year. The Exchange did not provide a clearing price for RECs traded in the month.

The next REC trading session at the Exchange is scheduled for February 22, 2023.