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IEX tanks 28% after Market Coupling approval
IEX crashed to 28% lower circuit after the power regulator greenlit market coupling for the Day-Ahead Market.
Market coupling is like having one big shop where everyone who wants to buy or sell electricity comes together. Instead of different shops (exchanges) having different prices, now everyone agrees on one common price for electricity at any time.
The Day Ahead Market (DAM) is where people buy and sell electricity for the next day. Think of it like pre-ordering your lunch for tomorrow power companies and buyers plan one day ahead.
The deets: the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has approved the implementation of market coupling in the Day-Ahead Market (DAM) which set to go live by January 2026.
In phase one, all power exchanges in India will start functioning under a common pricing system, with each exchange taking turns as the Market Coupling Operator (MCO) using a round-robin model.
Round-robin model is like taking turns in a fair way.
In the round-robin model for market coupling, different power exchanges (like IEX, PXIL, etc.) will take turns running the system that sets the final electricity price, one at a time, in rotation. Everyone gets a fair shot.
Why it matters: while the change won’t affect your monthly power bill immediately, over time it could bring down overall power costs for end users.
It also supports the government’s goal to boost short-term power trading and move away from long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) that can last up to 25 years.
For IEX, this means it no longer set electricity prices on its own. With market coupling, all exchanges will share one common price, reducing IEX’s control.
