IEX launches real-time electricity market to manage demand-supply variation

New Delhi [India], June 1 : The Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) on Monday launched the much-awaited real-time electricity market (RTM) on its platform.
The real-time market is an endeavour by the regulator Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) to make the power market dynamic by enabling trade in electricity through half-hourly auctions.
There will be 48 auction sessions during the day with the delivery of power within one hour of the closure of the bid session.
IEX said the market will greatly aid distribution utilities to manage power demand-supply variation and meet 24x7 power supply aspirations in a flexible, efficient and dynamic way.
The utilities presently manage unplanned changes in schedule through deviation settlement mechanism and in the process end up paying penalties.
RTM will facilitate utilities to reduce dependency on deviation framework and save on the huge penalties. It will also support the grid operators to enhance overall safety and security of the grid.
With the fast-paced shift towards renewable energy, RTM will facilitate the distribution utilities to manage the challenge of intermittency associated with renewables.
The market will help the utilities and system operators to forecast and schedule green energy in an effective way thereby supporting the national green energy aspirations towards building India as a sustainable green energy economy.
RTM will also provide an opportunity to generators to sell their unrequisitioned capacity thereby enabling efficient use of generation capacity.
IEX's RTM is powered by modern technology and features double-sided closed auction to ensure transparency, competitive price discovery, and seamless trading experience to the market participants.
"With the launch of RTM, the Indian energy markets are moving towards global standards of electricity trading and establishing the new energy order in the country," said IEX Managing Director and CEO Rajiv Srivastava.
"The primary purpose of the real-time market is to allow utilities to manage their power demand dynamically, save on huge deviation related penalties and integrate renewables in an effective way," he added.
"The new market segment will foster greater flexibility, competition and efficiency in the lectricity sector and address the emerging needs of the time," said Srivastava in a statement.
IEX has already held several capacity building sessions involving the main beneficiaries of this new market segment including market participants, generation companies and utilities.
It has also successfully conducted various mock trading sessions and made an RTM tool available to help utilities leverage the market effectively.