One Price for Power? Why IEX Shares Crashed 10% After Big Reform in Power Trading

India's power sector regulator approved market coupling for the Day-Ahead Market, impacting electricity pricing. Starting January 2026, a single Market Clearing Price (MCP) will be established across all power exchanges.

Shares of Indian Energy Exchange Ltd (IEX) on Thursday (July 24) took a sharp hit, tumbling 10% in early trade, after news broke that the power sector regulator has cleared a major overhaul in how electricity prices are decided in India.

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has given the green light to implement market coupling in the Day-Ahead Market (DAM)—a key segment where electricity is traded for next-day delivery. The change is expected to come into effect by January 2026.

But what is market coupling, and why does it matter?

In simple terms, it means that all buy and sell orders across different power exchanges will be pooled together, and a single price—called the Market Clearing Price (MCP)—will be decided for all. No more different rates on different platforms. Think of it like booking train tickets from various apps, but all of them showing the same final price.

This new system will rotate the role of Market Coupling Operators (MCOs) among power exchanges, ensuring fairness in price discovery.

While this shift may not directly impact everyday consumers immediately, experts believe it could lead to cheaper power bills over time by bringing in greater efficiency and transparency in electricity trading.

For the government, this is also a step toward reducing long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs)—which often run for 20-25 years—and moving towards a more open, dynamic power market through exchanges.

At 9:15 a.m., IEX shares were trading at ₹169.10, down 10% on the NSE, hitting the lower circuit. Over the past year, the stock has risen nearly 7%, outpacing the Nifty 50’s 3.3% gain.