The Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) traded 454 million units (MU) of renewable energy in September 2022, registering a 4% month-over-month (MoM) growth.

However, the total energy traded on the exchange last month declined by 8% year-over-year (YoY) to 8,160 MU, primarily because the average clearing price in the Day-Ahead Market rose to ₹5.63 (~$0.069)/kWh, which was 9% higher on a MoM basis and 28% higher YoY.

Apart from renewable energy, the traded volume comprised 7,118 MU in the conventional power market and 588 MU in the renewable energy certificate (REC) market.

Supply-side constraints continued due to the high prices of e-auction coal, imported coal, and gas, resulting in lower traded volume during the second quarter.

In the July-September quarter of the fiscal year (FY) 2023, the exchange registered 23,115 MU volume, which was lower by 11% YoY across market segments. Cumulatively, the total volume traded in the first half of FY 2023 marginally declined by 1% over 1H FY22.

According to the power demand data published by the National Load Dispatch Center, the energy consumption at 127 BU saw 11% YoY growth during September 2022. The national peak demand at 199 GW grew 10% YoY.

Green Market: Day-Ahead and Term-Ahead

The Green Market comprising the Green Day-Ahead Market (GDAM) and Green Term-Ahead Market (GTAM), traded 454 MU volume during the month, a MoM increase of 4%.

The GDAM traded 324 MU with a weighted average price of ₹5.42 (~$0.066)/kWh. The weighted average price was ₹5.20 (~$0.065)/kWh in the preceding month. The traded power included a solar volume of 199 MU and a non-solar volume of 125 MU.

In all, 747 entities participated in the process. The highest number of participants in a single day was 614 on September 5, 2022.

The GTAM traded 129 MU volume during the month. The traded power included 16 MU of solar and 17 MU of non-solar and 96 MU of hydro.

The average monthly price for solar was ₹5.05 (~$0.062)/kWh compared to ₹3.57 (~$0.045)/kWh in the previous month.

The average monthly price for non-solar was ₹6.15 (~$0.075)/kWh and for hydro it was ₹5.56 (~$0.067)/kWh.

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

In September 2022, the DAM traded 4,050 MU of energy, registering a 15% growth on a MoM basis. However, high prices led to lower volume in the DAM by 37% on a YoY basis. In Q2 FY 2023, 11,095 MU volume was traded in the segment.

The Real-Time Electricity Market traded 2,193 MU, registering a growth of 19% YoY. The highest single-day volume of 104 MU was on September 25, 2022. There were 614 participants in this segment during the month.

The Real-Time Market achieved a cumulative trade of 6,589 MU in Q2 FY 2023, registering a robust 24% YoY growth. The consistent growth of the real-time electricity market is an indication of the growing reliance of distribution utilities and industries to achieve power demand-supply balancing in real-time most efficiently.

The Term-Ahead Market (TAM), comprising intra-day, contingency, daily & weekly contracts, traded 875 MU during the month, registering 721% YoY growth and 21% MoM growth. Cumulatively for the quarter, TAM traded a total of 2,038 MU and registered a remarkable 30% YoY growth.

Renewable Energy Certificate Market

September saw 588,000 RECs cleared, registering a decline of 30% MoM. The volume comprised 198,000 non-solar RECs with a clearing price of ₹1,000 (~$12.53) per REC. Increased inventory of solar RECs saw the clearing price reaching floor-level of ₹1,000 (~$12.53) per REC with 390,000 solar RECs traded. In the previous month, 167,000 solar RECs were traded at a clearing price of ₹1,100 (~$13.95). The next REC trading session is scheduled for October 26, 2022.

In May this year, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) issued ‘Terms and Conditions for RECs for Renewable Energy Generation Regulations, 2022.’ According to the new regulations, renewable energy generating stations, captive generating stations based on renewable energy sources, distribution licensees, and open access consumers are now eligible to issue RECs.

Earlier, CERC directed the power exchanges to redesign their bidding software so that members could submit their buy bids at the maximum price of ₹12 (~$0.16)/kWh for the day-ahead and real-time markets.