Overview

• The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission has activated its phased market coupling plan, directing the Grid Controller of India to pilot tests of real-time market coupling with security-constrained economic dispatch before rolling out day-ahead market coupling by January 2026.
• Under the new framework, all buy and sell bids will be aggregated by a single market coupling operator to set a uniform market-clearing price, replacing each exchange’s individual price-setting role.
• Indian Energy Exchange shares plunged to lower-circuit limits after the order reduced its exclusive price discovery function, even as it reported a 21% rise in net profit and 13.3% revenue growth for the June quarter.
• PTC India shares jumped nearly 5% on expectations that its 22.6% stake in Hindustan Power Exchange will give it a rotation slot as a coupling operator and a shot at capturing at least one-third of spot volumes.
• Market coupling is designed to boost liquidity, improve efficiency and support renewable integration by pooling bids across exchanges and optimizing dispatch under a single pricing mechanism.