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					</table><p>The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="https://cercind.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CERC</a>) has issued draft amendments to the Power Market Regulations, 2021, proposing a framework for implementing market coupling across power exchanges.</p>
<p>The draft Power Market (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2026, set out the institutional structure and operational framework for market coupling and price discovery in the power market.</p>
<p>Stakeholders can submit their comments and suggestions by May 16, 2025.</p>
<p>Under the proposed amendments, the Grid Controller of India (Grid India) will function as the Market Coupling Operator (MCO) and will be responsible for the operation and management of market coupling. The agency will establish a separate cell to discharge these functions.</p>
<p>The draft introduces a definition for the Power Market Coupling Procedure (PMCP), which will serve as the detailed procedure for implementing market coupling.</p>
<p>Price discovery will be undertaken by the MCO from a date to be notified by the Commission. Until such notification, power exchanges will continue to carry out price discovery.</p>
<p>Market coupling will apply to the Day-Ahead Market (DAM), Real-Time Market (RTM), and other market segments from dates to be notified by the Commission. Different implementation timelines may be specified for different market segments.</p>
<p>Power exchanges will continue to collect bids from market participants in a uniform format in accordance with the PMCP. These bids, after validation and anonymization, will be transmitted to the MCO through secure channels within the timelines specified in the procedure. The MCO will aggregate bids received from all exchanges for each market segment to facilitate price discovery.</p>
<p>The draft provides that price discovery will be based on the principle of maximization of economic surplus, defined as the sum of buyer and seller surplus. In an unconstrained system, a uniform market-clearing price will be determined for all cleared transactions. In the event of transmission congestion, market splitting will be applied.</p>
<p>Grid India has been tasked with formulating the PMCP, with the Commission&#8217;s approval, within six months of the amendments&#8217; notification. The procedure will cover the roles and responsibilities of the MCO, power exchanges, and the National Load Despatch Centre; the operational sequence and timelines for market coupling sessions; bid submission formats and data handling protocols; features of the price discovery algorithm; and processes for scheduling, settlement, and handling operational constraints or delays.</p>
<p>The draft also provides that select regulatory provisions applicable to power exchanges under the principal regulations will extend to the MCO.</p>
<p>The CERC’s move follows a February 2026 ruling by the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity, which <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/aptel-dismisses-iexs-appeal-against-cercs-market-coupling-directions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dismissed</a> a petition filed by the Indian Energy Exchange challenging the Commission’s directions on market coupling.</p>
<p>The tribunal held that the Commission had only initiated the process and that implementation would require a separate regulatory framework. The present draft amendments set out that framework by defining the roles, processes, and procedures for market coupling.</p>
<p>Subscribe to Mercom’s real-time <a href="https://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.</p>


CERC Moves to Formalize Market Coupling, Names Grid India as the Operator


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					</table><p>The Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (<a href="https://aptel.gov.in/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">APTEL</a>) has dismissed an appeal filed by the Indian Energy Exchange (<a href="https://www.iexindia.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IEX</a>) against the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (<a href="https://cercind.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CERC</a>) initiation of the process for market coupling in the Day Ahead Market (DAM) on the power exchanges.</p>
<p>It held that the CERC had, on July 23, 2025, held that the directions merely <a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/cerc-directs-phased-rollout-of-power-market-coupling-from-january-2026/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">initiated</a> the process for implementing market coupling and did not, by themselves, operationalize it.</p>
<p>The Tribunal emphasized that under Regulation 39 of the Power Market Regulations, 2021, ‘Market Coupling’ can only come into effect after separate regulations are framed and notified by CERC.</p>
<p>The Tribunal clarified that it lacked jurisdiction to direct CERC either to frame or refrain from framing regulations.</p>
<p>Further, APTEL found that the power exchanges, including the appellant, IEX, continued to operate as before, and the directions only indicated a future expectation of market coupling.</p>
<p><strong>Background </strong></p>
<p>The dispute arose from CERC’s order directing the implementation of market coupling under the 2021 regulations.</p>
<p>In 2024, the CERC had <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 market coupling across various segments of all three energy exchanges – IEX, Power Exchange India, and Hindustan Power Exchange.</p>
<p>Grid-India subsequently submitted reports dated January 16, 2025 (based on 29 months of data) and June 30, 2025 (covering a four-month D+1 run from December 2024 to March 2025)</p>
<p>Based on these reports, CERC had favored implementing market coupling in DAM in a phased manner.</p>
<p>IEX challenged the order on multiple grounds. It argued that the earlier findings of insignificant economic gains of less than 0.013% did not justify implementation.</p>
<p>It also contended that the 29-month report showed negligible gains and that the decision relied selectively on a four-month report showing only 0.3% economic surplus.</p>
<p>A major point of the challenge was concerning the timing of CERC’s decision. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) recorded unusual trades and profits amounting to approximately ₹1.73 billion (~$19.11 billion) in IEX’s shares around the announcement of market coupling.</p>
<p>IEX argued that these developments raised questions on the entire decision-making process and tainted the impugned order.</p>
<p><strong>Commission’s Analysis </strong></p>
<p>APTEL examined whether the July 23, 2025, proceedings constituted a final order or were part of the regulation-making exercise.</p>
<p>It noted that the proceedings were issued suo motu.</p>
<p>The Tribunal observed that it had clearly stated that provisions relating to market coupling would come into effect only after separate regulations are specified.</p>
<p>Therefore, the earlier directions were not the final regulations.</p>
<p>On the issue of consequences, APTEL held that mere apprehension of business loss did not confer the status of a ‘person aggrieved.’ Since the appellant continued to operate as before, the appeal was premature.</p>
<p>APTEL considered SEBI’s observation that the implementation of the market coupling mechanism was expected to negatively affect trading volume on IEX in the DAM segment. A preliminary examination further revealed significant price and volume movements in the IEX scrip the day after the CERC order.</p>
<p>However, with regard to SEBI’s concerns, APTEL considered the allegations of insider trading and the impounding direction of ₹1.73 billion (~$19.11 billion), but found that these issues did not, at this stage, invalidate CERC’s regulatory directions.</p>
<p>The Tribunal added that it is appropriate that, until the proceedings initiated by SEBI and by the CERC itself are concluded, the officers referred to in the interim order of SEBI dated October 15, 2025, be kept away from the regulation-making exercise with respect to market coupling.</p>
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APTEL Dismisses IEX’s Appeal Against CERC’s Market Coupling Directions


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					</table><p>The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="https://cercind.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CERC</a>) has directed a phased implementation of market coupling across power exchanges, starting with the day-ahead market (DAM) coupling by January 2026.</p>
<p>The DAM coupling will be executed in round-robin mode, with the role of market coupling operator (MCO) rotating among the three operational power exchanges—Indian Energy Exchange, Power Exchange India, and Hindustan Power Exchange.</p>
<p>Grid-India will serve as the fourth MCO for audit and backup purposes.</p>
<p>CERC’s decision follows a shadow pilot study by Grid-India which revealed that DAM coupling resulted in an overall welfare gain of ₹380 million (~$4.39 million), or 0.3%, and a 52 million units (MU) or 0.2% increase in volume cleared.</p>
<p>The price impact was negligible due to the skewed liquidity distribution, with welfare gains recorded in every market session.</p>
<p>For real-time market (RTM) coupling, the simulation showed a ₹7.2 million (~$83,325.53) welfare gain (0.01%) and a 1.54 MU (0.01%) increase in cleared volume, again with minimal impact on market prices.</p>
<p>For the RTM-security constrained economic dispatch (SCED) coupling, the pilot study demonstrated daily net savings of ₹14 million (~$162,021.86) in cost optimization. However, it also showed a ₹1 (~$0.012)/MWh increase in average cost due to lower demand. The model also led to reduced volatility in the average clearing price.</p>
<p>While DAM coupling is now scheduled for operational rollout, RTM coupling has been deferred and will be revisited after gaining implementation experience from the former. The RTM-SCED coupling has been marked for further stakeholder consultation and regulatory deliberation due to its complexity.</p>
<p>CERC also directed Grid-India to develop software for a shadow pilot for the term-ahead market (TAM), which will include contingency contracts. A three-month pilot will be conducted, followed by a feedback report submission.</p>
<p>The Commission instructed all power exchanges to provide the required data to Grid-India and the regulator to support implementation. CERC staff have also been tasked with initiating regulatory amendments needed to operationalize DAM coupling.</p>
<p><strong>Background</strong></p>
<p>The latest order builds on a previous directive <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/cerc-market-coupling-shadow-pilot-power-exchanges" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> by the Commission, which initiated a shadow pilot to test the feasibility of market coupling. Grid-India was instructed to develop the necessary software and run the pilot for four months, submitting monthly operational reports and a final feedback report.</p>
<p>The market coupling initiative aims to facilitate uniform price discovery, optimize the use of transmission networks, and increase buyer-seller surplus.</p>
<p>In June this year, CERC <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/cerc-proposes-expanding-scope-of-over-the-counter-power-markets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposed</a> amendments to its Power Market Regulations, 2021, to expand the scope of over-the-counter power markets.</p>


CERC Directs Phased Rollout of Power Market Coupling from January 2026

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