Driven by an increasing electricity demand across Indian states, the electricity market at the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) witnessed an all-time high volume of 8,249 million units (MU) in March this year.

Green Term-Ahead Market

The Green Term-Ahead Market traded a volume of 51 MU during March, which comprised 21 MU in the solar segment and 30 MU in the non-solar sector. A total of 24 members participated in the trading process, including distribution utilities from Haryana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, New Delhi, Karnataka, Telangana, and Maharashtra.

In December last year, IEX had launched daily and weekly green contracts on its green market trading platform. The platform now has four contracts and allows traders to purchase energy on the same day or up to 11 days in advance. The green market has cumulatively traded a volume of 786 MU since its launch on August 21, 2020.

As per the data released by the National Load Despatch Center (NLDC), the national peak power demand touched 186 GW, a 9% increase compared to the same period last year. The power demand grew by 23% during the same period last year.

The trading market performed well despite the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown during the financial year (FY) 2021. The electricity demand reduced drastically in the first two months of FY 2021. However, the electricity market achieved an all-time high of 73,941 MU during the year, registering a growth of nearly 37%. The trading market was helped with the introduction of a real-time market and the green market, which contributed 14% of the total volume traded during the year.

The growth in the traded volumes of electricity on the platform during the financial year reiterates the exchange market’s role among the distribution utilities and industrial consumers in facilitating a competitive and efficient power procurement.

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

The real-time market also continued its splendid run during March and crossed the 1 BU mark for the fourth consecutive month. The real-time market recorded the highest single-day volume of 63 MU on March 23. The market saw the highest ever monthly volume of 1,414 MU, an increase of 26% compared to February 2021.

The day-ahead market also witnessed an impressive growth of 65% year-over-year (YoY) with nearly 6,549 MU of traded volume in March. The average monthly price stood at ₹4.06 (~$0.055)/kWh during the month, increasing 20% compared to February 2021. The price increase was mainly due to the rise in temperature and the revival of economic and commercial activities. For FY 2021, the day-ahead market saw a traded volume of 60,416 MU, an increase of 23% compared to the same period last year.

The term-ahead market traded a volume of 234 MU during the month, and for FY 2021, the term-ahead market traded a total of 3,272 MU.

The renewable energy certificate (REC) trading session, which was scheduled for March 31, 2021, did not take place due to the stay order from APTEL in response to the petitions filed by renewable energy associations against the CERC order dated June 2020 regarding revision in the floor and forbearance prices of RECs. In its order, the Commission had implemented a forbearance (maximum) price of ₹1,000 (~$13.16) for solar and non-solar RECs for 2020, down from 2017’s prices of ₹2,400 (~$31.59)/MWh and ₹3,000 (~$39.48), respectively.