Grid India proposes steering committee for power market coupling

Market coupling aims to integrate bids from all power exchanges to discover a uniform electricity price, thereby enhancing market efficiency. CERC had previously issued an order to initiate this process and subsequently released draft regulations in April proposing Grid India as the sole market coupling operator (MCO). Grid India, however, pointed to European experiences where a round-robin system, supported by a steering committee, has been adopted. It warned that a single MCO model, while simpler, could introduce a single point of failure, potentially disrupting the entire market clearing function in case of any disruption.

Grid India also suggested creating a separate cell within its own operations dedicated to market coupling functions. This is to address potential conflicts arising from the dual roles of market clearing and ensuring system reliability, especially as the Central Transmission Utility is being transferred to Grid India. The company indicated that a wholly owned subsidiary might be necessary for market coupling in the future. Additionally, Grid India requested clarification on whether the market coupling regulation for the day-ahead market would apply to all its variants, such as green DAM and high price-DAM.

Notably, the Indian Energy Exchange Ltd, along with other power exchanges, had challenged CERC's suo motu order on market coupling before the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL). In February, APTEL permitted the regulator to move forward with framing the relevant regulations.