In October 2021, the power exchanges introduced the Green Day Ahead Market (GDAM), a segment that provides participants the opportunity to purchase electricity on a day-ahead basis.

GDAM provides new opportunities to renewable energy generators that either face the brunt of long-delayed payments by distribution companies (DISCOMs) or have surplus power.

Some of the prominent features of GDAM/GDAC:

• A single window for bidding per the existing timeline of 10 am to 12 noon.
• Market clearing is sequential; first, Green Day Ahead Contract (GDAC) will be cleared, followed by the Day Ahead Contract (DAC), considering the uncleared bids of GDAC, if any.
• In the event of real-time transmission constraints, curtailment of transmission would be per the provisions of the Grid Code.
• Buyers will be given the flexibility to choose the renewable purchase obligation (RPO) they wish to fulfill from the power procured from GDAC.
• GDAC will be restricted to those renewable energy generators not registered under the renewable energy certificate (REC) mechanism. The sale of power by such generators in DAC would not be eligible for RECs.
• The waiver of ISTS charges and losses would be governed as per the provision of the sharing regulations.

Top sellers in the Green Day Ahead Market

Before the introduction of GDAM, renewable power was mainly procured through the Green Term-Ahead Market (GTAM).

Karnataka led the way in terms of power sold through the exchanges accounting for 41%, followed by Telangana in the fourth quarter (Q4) of the calendar year (CY) 2021. Madhya Pradesh, Azure Power, and Jammu & Kashmir were the top five entities selling power in the GDAM.

The numbers were revealed in Mercom India Solar Open Access Market Report Q1 2022.

The top five states accounted for 82% of power sold in the GDAM in Q4 2021.

According to industry sources, developers who faced challenges due to the delay in the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) signing power sale agreements with DISCOMs resorted to selling the power in the exchanges.

GDAM traded 25 MU in the first six days since trading commenced on October 26, 2021. The market had discovered a weighted average price of ₹3.8 (~$0.051)/unit. In all, there were 56 participants.

Top buyers in the Green Day Ahead Market

The union territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli was the leading energy procurer from GDAM with 27% of the total market share, followed by Delhi. Maharashtra, Odisha, and Haryana were the other states with significant energy purchases. The top ten states accounted for 94% of the total energy procured through GDAM.

The best feature of GDAM is that it allows entities to participate in trading daily, offering consumers a more flexible arrangement.

Since its inception in October last year, GDAM has witnessed a gradual increase in the amount of power traded and is likely to get better in the near future.

‘Mercom India Solar Open Access Market Report Q1 2022’ is 116 pages and covers a detailed analysis and data on the market. For the complete report, please visit:  https://mercomindia.com/product/india-solar-open-access-market-report-q1-2022