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					</table>The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="https://cercind.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CERC</a>)  has ordered a comprehensive audit of all three power exchanges in the next six months and the elimination of manual entries of bids and cancellation/modification of bids outside of trading hours, citing multiple violations.
In a suo motu order, the CERC said its staff will conduct an audit of the processes and software of all three power exchanges with the help of suitable agencies to ensure the provisions of Power Market Regulations 2021 are followed.
The audit will be completed within six months from the date of the order. The designated agencies must submit their report within three weeks of completion of the audit.
Based on the findings in the audit report, the Commission may issue further directions as deemed necessary.
Background
The CERC, through the Market Surveillance Committee (MSC) reports, identified that there was no uniformity in the contents of the reports submitted by the three power exchanges – <a href="https://www.iexindia.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indian Energy Exchange</a>, <a href="https://powerexindia.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Power Exchange India</a>, and <a href="https://www.hpxindia.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hindustan Power Exchange</a>.
It observed that there have been instances of manual entry and cancellation of bids outside of trading hours and, in some cases, extension of market hours.
The CERC noted that in reports for Q1 2019-20 to Q3 2023-24, there has been an increasing trend of such instances, especially in 2022-23.
The exchanges, in their submission, cited reasons such as operational and communication issues, unavailability of workforce on a round-the-clock basis, and bids placed during non-office hours.
The CERC said it believes that accommodating such requests to enter bids on the members’ behalf can provide a potential breeding ground for market manipulation. It goes against the principle of anonymity and transparency of collective transactions.
In the past, the CERC had allowed members to cancel their bids after trading hours up to five times a year.
One of the power exchanges, in its Risk Assessment and Management Committee and MSC report, mentioned reasons like members facing difficulty in placing bids, non-installation of the latest software by some of the members, and events like policy restrictions (Payment Security restriction on DISCOMs) that led them to extend the trading hours.
No Manual Bids
The Commission noted that power exchanges must operate in a fair, transparent, and competitive manner to maintain the faith of market participants and stakeholders.
While being flexible in dealing with system exigencies and accommodating members’ requests, the Commission believes key elements of the double-sided closed auction process with uniform price discovery, like bid entry procedures and timelines, must be strictly complied with to avoid any market manipulation.
The Commission has ordered that there must be no manual entry of bids by power exchanges on behalf of their members within or outside of trading hours.
No bids must be accepted by the power exchanges after the trading hours.
The central regulator also directed the exchanges to build a robust system with end-to-end encryption of data from the trading workstation of members and the trading platform. This is to ensure that the entire trail of the bidding session, starting from submission till the end, is encrypted to ensure bid anonymity and market integrity is maintained.
The data must not be made available to anyone till bid matching and finalization of the results.
Power exchanges are to make necessary changes to their existing system and report compliance to the Commission.
Bids entered by a member of the exchange must be first checked against the availability of funds or collateral in the risk management system before being accepted in the bid book.
The Commission directed the exchanges to automate the process completely with no manual intervention. The need to re-run the provisional and final results due to the deletion of bids because of fund shortage must be eliminated. The exchanges must make the necessary changes to verify this at the very stage of entering bids.
The Commission withdrew its previous order, allowing cancellation of bids post trading hours, with immediate effect. The exchanges are to no longer entertain any requests for cancellation outside of trading hours in any of the collective market segments.
CERC has also restricted the modification of bids outside of trading hours. It has directed exchanges to design the software to capture any changes due to provisional or final results or congestion, separately from any modification done at the member level.
No extension of trading hours will be allowed except for cases where the system operator identifies a constraint.
The Commission directed the exchanges to train the market participants from time to time to enable the smooth submission of bids. The exchanges will be required to submit a report on the training sessions and awareness programs they conduct every six months.
They must ensure the latest version of the interface is made available on workstations and that the required infrastructure is in place.
The exchanges were also directed to align their respective Business Rules, Rules, and Bylaws according to the directions in the CERC order and submit the compliance report within two weeks.
Recently, the CERC <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/cerc-market-coupling-shadow-pilot-power-exchanges" target="_blank" rel="noopener">authorized</a> a shadow pilot on power systems and cost optimization through a market coupling of various segments of all three energy exchanges.
In May last year, a committee of experts constituted by the Ministry of Power <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/discoms-limiting-participation-power-exchanges" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> that the electricity market in India faces significant challenges that hinder the integration of renewable energy and limit the participation of DISCOMs in power exchanges.
Subscribe to Mercom’s real-time <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/product/mercoms-renewable-energy-regulatory-updates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Regulatory Updates</a> to ensure you don’t miss any critical updates from the renewable industry.

No Manual Bids, Follow Strict Trading Hours: CERC to Power Exchanges

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					</table>The Indian Energy Exchange (<a href="https://www.iexindia.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IEX</a>) traded 358 million units (MU) of renewable energy during May 2023, a 28% increase from 280 MU traded in April and a 44% year-over-year (YoY) decrease.
The green energy traded in the market includes Green Day-Ahead Market (G-DAM) and Green Term-Ahead Market (G-TAM).
The total trading volume was 8,251 MU, representing an 8% YoY increase.
The trading price during May dropped by 30% YoY from ₹6.76 (~$0.082)/kWh to ₹4.74 (~$0.057)/kWh, due to the cooler weather conditions and improving supply side scenario leading to increased liquidity.
The supply-side liquidity is expected to improve further as the power demand trends upwards, leading to enhanced coal supply, reduced e-auction coal prices, and declining imported coal and gas prices, IEX said.
The improvement would help achieve competitive prices and higher clearance for DISCOMs and Open Access consumers.
According to GRID-India, energy met in the country during the month was 136.5 BU, a marginal 1% YoY increase.
Green Market: Day-Ahead and Term-Ahead
The Exchange traded 199 MU in the GDAM during May 2023, with a weighted average price of ₹5.20 (~$0.063)/kWh and 181 market participants.
The GTAM traded 158 MU with an average monthly price of ₹3.47 (~$0.042)/kWh for solar, ₹5.43 (~$0.066)/kWh for non-solar, and ₹5.14 (~$0.062)/kWh for hydro.
The solar and non-solar prices dropped considerably by 46% and 34% YoY, respectively.
Electricity Market: Day-Ahead, Term-Ahead, and Real-Time Market
The Day-Ahead Market traded 4,066 MU in May, a 26% YoY increase from 3,224 MU. The average market clearing price during the month was ₹4.74 (~$0.057)/kWh, a 30% YoY drop.
The Real-Time Electricity Market (RTM) achieved the highest-ever monthly volume of 2,424 MU during May, a 13% MoM, and 5% YoY growth, with 719 participants.
The RTM segment’s consistent growth is driven by the increasing acceptance amongst distribution utilities and industries to efficiently balance the power-demand supply on a real-time basis.
The Term-Ahead Market, which includes intra-day, contingency, daily, and weekly contracts and contracts up to three months, traded 1,058 MU during the month, an 11% YoY drop.
Renewable Energy Certificate Market
The month of May saw 142,000 renewable energy certificates (RECs), equivalent to 142 MU traded with a clearance price of ₹899 (~$10.88) per REC.
The next REC trading session is scheduled on June 28, 2023.
Energy Saving Certificates
A total of 202,000 Energy Saving Certificates (ESCerts), equivalent to 202 MU, were traded at the IEX during the month. The floor price stood at ₹1,840 (~$22.28) per ESCert.
The exchange also introduced the Tertiary Reserve Ancillary Services (TRAS) Market Segment starting June 1, 2023, for the Day Ahead Market Ancillary Services and Real Time Market Ancillary Services.
In May, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/cerc-approves-iancillary-services-segment-power-exchanges" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approved</a> the introduction of the TRAS market segment on all three power exchanges.
IEX <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/iexs-revenue-fy23-dips-2-yoy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> a profit after tax of ₹883 million (~$10.7 million), a slight decrease of 0.1% YoY in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2023.

IEX Trades 358 MU of Green Energy in May 2023, a 44% YoY Drop

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					</table>The Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) for onshore wind and utility-scale solar is now competitive with conventional generation technologies, even without subsidies in some locations, a report by <a href="https://www.lazard.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lazard</a>, an asset management and financial advisory company, said.
It added that the cost of unsubsidized onshore wind can range from $24/MWh to $75/MWh, and the cost of utility-scale solar can range from $24/MWh to $96/MWh.
The cost of energy storage technologies is also declining rapidly, which is making it increasingly affordable to firm up the intermittency of renewable energy sources. It can help address the concerns about the variability of renewable sources and make integrating them into the grid easier.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-52604 size-full" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1.png" alt="" width="1318" height="660" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1.png 1318w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1-300x150.png 300w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1-768x385.png 768w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1-650x325.png 650w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1-624x312.png 624w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1-600x300.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1318px) 100vw, 1318px" />
While the reduction in costs continues, their rate of decline has slowed over the years.
The analysis also includes sensitivities for factors such as federal tax subsidies, fuel prices, carbon pricing, and cost of capital and shows how these factors can affect LCOE for different generation technologies.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-52605 size-full" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2.png" alt="" width="1307" height="731" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2.png 1307w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2-300x168.png 300w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2-768x430.png 768w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2-650x364.png 650w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2-624x349.png 624w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2-600x336.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1307px) 100vw, 1307px" />
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Specifically, the LCOE for onshore wind ($24/MWh) and for utility-scale solar PV ($24/MWh) are lower in comparison to the marginal cost of coal-fired generation ranges from $29/MWh to $74/MWh, and the marginal cost of combined cycle gas-fired generation ranges from $51/MWh to $73/MWh.
According to Lazard&#8217;s analysis of unsubsidized LCOE, there have also been significant cost reductions in the historical pricing of utility-scale renewable energy generation technologies.
These cost reductions have been due to several factors, including lower capital costs, advancements in technology, and greater competition in the market.
The LCOE for renewable energy technologies, specifically utility-scale solar PV, recorded a decrease of 83% from $359/MWh in 2009 to $60/MWh in 2023. Onshore wind recorded a decrease of 63%, ranging from $135/MWh in 2009 to $50/MWh in 2033.
Both have decreased significantly over the past decade, making them increasingly cost-competitive with traditional fossil fuel technologies such as coal and natural gas combined cycle.
In contrast, the LCOE for coal and nuclear power has remained relatively stable.
The report also notes that the adoption of energy storage has been driven by regulatory incentives, falling costs, and the need to manage the variability of renewable generation.
Green hydrogen cost
The report notes that the cost of green hydrogen, which is produced using renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, is still relatively high compared to conventional fuels. However, the cost is expected to decline significantly over the next decade, driven by falling renewable energy costs, improvements in electrolysis technology, and economies of scale.
The report also highlights that the cost of blue hydrogen, which is produced using natural gas with carbon capture and storage, is already competitive with conventional fuels in some regions and  that blue hydrogen can play an important role in decarbonizing certain industries while green hydrogen scales up.
According to a Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory report, utility-scale solar projects’ LCOE <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/falling-costs-drove-solar-installations-in-the-us-in-2021" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decreased</a> by about 85% in the U.S. since 2010 to $33/MWh in 2021.
The U.S. added 32 GW of renewable energy capacity in 2022, according to a BloombergNEF report.

Renewable Generation Cost Can Compete with Conventional Energy in the US

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					</table>As the global demand for electricity is expected to grow at an average rate of 3% annually over the next three years, renewables and nuclear power would also increase to meet almost all of the world’s demand by 2025, a new International Energy Agency (<a href="https://www.iea.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IEA</a>) report finds.
IEA’s Electricity Market Report 2023 offers an analysis of recent policies, trends, and market developments, including forecasts through 2025 for electricity demand, supply, and CO2 emissions.
The robust growth of renewables will lead to an increasing share in the global power generation mix and is expected to rise from 29% in 2022 to 35% in 2025. As a result, the CO2 intensity of global power generation will continue to decrease.
The world’s electricity demand growth slowed slightly in 2022, but is expected to accelerate in the years ahead, the report said. The forecasted growth is a step up from the average growth of 2.4% during the years before the Covid pandemic.
Asia the Driving Force
The report said that emerging and developing economies in Asia would be the driving force behind the faster pace.
Over 70% of the increase in global electricity demand is expected to come from China, India, and Southeast Asia. China’s share of global electricity consumption is currently forecast to rise to a new record of one-third by 2025, up from one-quarter in 2015.
Advanced economies are also seeking to expand electricity generation methods to displace fossil fuels in sectors such as transport, heating, and industry.
India’s electricity consumption rose strongly, while China’s growth was more subdued due to its zero-covid policy weighing heavily on economic activity.
The United States recorded a robust increase in demand, driven by economic activity and higher residential use amid hotter summer weather and a colder-than-normal winter.
In contrast, demand in the European Union contracted due to mild winter weather and a decline in electricity consumption in the industrial sector.
The report said that electricity demand and supply worldwide are becoming increasingly weather-dependent and highlighted the need for faster decarbonization and accelerated deployment of clean energy technologies.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said governments now need to enable low-emissions sources to grow even faster and drive down emissions so that the world can ensure secure electricity supplies while reaching climate goals.
Last month, the agency <a href="https://mercomindia.com/industrial-strategies-key-to-energy-challenges-iea/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highlighted</a> that the uneven geographic distribution of critical mineral resources used in clean energy supply chains makes international collaboration and strategic partnerships crucial. In its Energy Technology Perspectives 2023, the IEA provided a comprehensive analysis of global manufacturing of clean energy technologies and their supply chains today.
In December 2022, IEA <a href="https://mercomindia.com/efficiency-measures-billion-in-energy-bills-since-iea/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that energy efficiency actions taken since 2000, such as investments in building insulation and efficient cars, had ensured that the energy bills in IEA countries in 2022 are set to be $680 billion less than what they would have been otherwise.

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