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Informist, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026

 

--SC rejects IEX plea against CERC order to implement market coupling 

--CONTEXT: IEX plea in SC against CERC order to implement market coupling 

--CERC to SC on IEX plea: Market coupling norms will come in 4 to 6 weeks 

 

NEW DELHI –  The Supreme Court Monday rejected Indian Energy Exchange Ltd.'s plea against the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission's order to implement market coupling for the day-ahead market and amend regulations accordingly. The bench of Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe said that it was not the right stage to express opinion on the case as the power regulator's norms are just at the draft stage and all the questions of law are kept open to be considered at an appropriate stage. Meanwhile, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission told the apex court that the power market norms, which include a framework for market coupling, will come in four to six weeks.  

 

 

At 1313 IST, shares of Indian Energy Exchange Ltd. traded 3.1% lower at INR 128.19 on the National Stock Exchange. 

 

The apex court questioned Indian Energy Exchange as to how its right to do business gets hampered. "Your monopoly will be sealed," remarked the top court. It asked what was the problem of Indian Energy Exchange with current regulatory regime put up by the power regulator. The top court allowed the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission to proceed with framing regulations on market coupling. 

 

Indian Energy Exchange had sought withdrawal of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission's July 2025 order on day-ahead market coupling. The order was to be implemented only after necessary regulations were made. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission's order had adopted a round-robin model, where Indian Energy Exchange, Power Exchange India Ltd. and Hindustan Power Exchange would take turns acting as the market coupling operator. Grid-India was to act as a standby body and oversee audits, ensuring transparency.

 

According to the order, from January 2026, the Grid Controller Of India was to aggregate energy prices across all power trading platforms and publish a single price. This process was called day-ahead market coupling. Indian Energy Exchange dominates the electricity trading market with an overall share of about 85% and near-total presence in key segments such as the day-ahead market and real-time market. Since bids are placed independently on separate energy exchanges, price discovery across the platforms differs. With market coupling, a single market-clearing price will be used on all exchanges, erasing benefits for traders on the largest energy exchange platform.  

 

Indian Energy had argued that the commission's order was arbitrary and violated principles of natural justice. It claimed that the coupling order would only lead to loss of market share without any conceivable benefit. Appearing for Indian Energy, advocate Mukul Rohatgi had earlier said that the company had a freedom of enterprise, adding, "Can you merge NSE (National Stock Exchange) and BSE together?" "Why are you stopping or closing my business" said Rohatgi. The initiation of process for putting up of draft norms was corrupted, he said.

 

In April, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission released a draft notification on power market norms for public comments, which included a framework for market coupling. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission had said that it had come out with draft rules on market coupling and dropped the round robin method, which was the objection raised by Indian Energy, and now the petitioner has to challenge the new draft.

 

In October, SEBI said officials at the electricity regulatory commission had traded in IEX derivatives and shares ahead of the market coupling decision that was likely to affect the company. The power regulator argued that SEBI's interim order against its officers did not contain any material allegation against its processes or proved mala fide in the issuance of the market coupling order.

 

On Feb. 13, the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity rejected Indian Energy Exchange's plea and said it was satisfied that the commission's proceedings would fall within the ambit of the expression "order" in section 111(1) of the Electricity Act, 2003, but held that Indian Energy was not "a person aggrieved" by the power regulator's order and so was not entitled to any relief.  

 

To protect the petitioner's rights, the appellate tribunal said its verdict would not prevent the company challenging the power regulator's order in the appropriate legal forum after the latter had drawn up the regulations. It also directed the commission to ensure that till the proceedings initiated by it and the Securities and Exchange Board of India against the former's officers who allegedly indulged in insider trading were concluded, those officers be kept away from the regulation-making exercise.

 

At 1313 IST, the shares of Indian Energy Exchange Ltd. were down 3.1% at INR 128.19 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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