Exclusive: PTC India power exchange to bring cross-border trade to market, says Director

• The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) accorded regulatory approval to PTC India for setting up India's third power exchange platform

• So far, none of the two major power exchanges in India — IEX and PXIL — host cross-border traders

New Delhi: Commenting on the upcoming power exchange, which is slated to be launched by PTC India, BSE Investments and ICICI Bank, by next financial year, PTC India Limited Director Dr Rajib K Mishra said on Thursday that the new power exchange platform will bring in competition and a variety of products to the market for various kinds of consumers, including cross-border trade, which would be a first for India. "Because it is not one product which is going to meet the needs of all kinds of consumers. So, we are focussed on bringing a variety of products to the market, including cross-border trade. We strongly believe that we need active players in the market who can bring innovative products," said Mishra while speaking at a webinar on the power distribution sector on Thursday.

Competition will be good for the power exchange market: PTC India Director

"For the last 10 years, there were only two power trading platforms in India for electricity trading. And for the last eight-nine years, India only saw day-ahead trade in electricity. So, competition is much needed for the introduction of new products. And we would like to bring something that is innovative and friendly for distribution companies and industrial consumers," said Mishra.

Also read: IEX gets nod from CERC to launch green energy market

The statement comes two weeks after the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) accorded regulatory approval to PTC India for setting up India's third power exchange platform. Currently, only two power exchanges — Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) and Power Exchange India (PXIL) — have power trading platforms through different types of contracts — day-ahead, term-ahead, renewable energy certificates, and recently int­roduced real-time electricity market.

The backdrop

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) notified new regulations for trading of power with neighbouring countries only in March last year. The new regulations paved the way for cross-border entities to trade on Indian day-ahead market on power exchanges for the first time. So far, none of the two major power exchanges in India — IEX and PXIL — host cross-border traders.

IEX, India's largest power exchange with a share of 95 percent in the day-ahead contracts market, has plans to host buyers and sellers on its platform from neighbouring countries, but the plan is yet to be put into implementation. Post-launch, PTC India's power exchange platform will compete with IEX and PXIL for market share and whoever brings cross-border trade to the exchange will be the first one to do so in the sector.

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