Shares of Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) jumped up to nearly 14% in the final hours of trading and ended Tuesday’s trade up 8% on the hope of relief in the market coupling case. This is with regard to the market coupling norms issued by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC). The hearing of the case by the Electricity Appellate Tribunal (APTEL) is underway when the story was published.
The rally in the IEX share price followed a report by CNBC-TV18, which indicated that the tribunal made ‘strong remarks while examining how the coupling regulations were framed.’
Financial Express could not independently verify this news development. The hearing is underway, and we will update on the latest developments on the matter as soon as there is an official statement.
APTEL comments trigger sharp reaction in IEX stock
According to the report by CNBC-TV18, APTEL said, “We were told that this (coupling order) was done only for some officers to make money. Saw a lot of theatrics in making of these (coupling) regulations.”
As per the report on CNBC-TV18, IEX maintained that the coupling framework is flawed. Restating its stand, IEX told the tribunal, as quoted by CNBC-TV18, “Even without SEBI findings of insider trading, the coupling order Is wrong, needs to be set aside.”
Why market coupling is such a big flashpoint
Power trading in India currently happens through two main segments: the day-ahead market (DAM) and the real-time market (RTM). Prices are discovered independently on each exchange based on bids from buyers and sellers.
Under the CERC order, from January 2026, Grid-India would pool bids from all exchanges and announce a single, market-cleared price for the day-ahead market. This process, called market coupling, effectively takes price discovery away from individual exchanges, as per the report.
At present, trading happens on IEX, Power Exchange of India, and Hindustan Power Exchange. IEX dominates the space with about 85% overall market share and near-total control in key segments such as DAM and RTM.