Power Market Monitoring in India and Way Forward

Pre-independence era, the Electricity Act 1910 was the first significant legislative step in regulating electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. The Electricity Act 2003 introduced provisions for delicensing generation, open access, competition, market, and regulatory oversight. The National Electricity Policy formulated in 2005, outlined objectives for electricity sector development, including promoting competition, encouraging private investment, and ensuring quality and reliability of supply. The Government of India has taken major steps to administer electricity market and promote green energy market at National level window through National Open Access Registry (NOAR) and Green Open Access Registry (GOAR) [1], [2]. This has facilitated a common electronic platform accessible to all stakeholders including all authorities to administer the short-term electricity market right from registration of entity till accounting, scheduling of power, payment and reconciliation. This National level platform National Open Access Registry (NOAR) and Green Open Access Registry (GOAR) have also facilitated integration of renewable energy into the country's national grid. The electricity market in India is undergoing significant transformations driven by the integration of renewable energy sources, evolving regulatory frameworks, and increasing demand. Effective monitoring of this dynamic market is crucial for ensuring reliability, efficiency, and competitiveness. The independent role of market monitor enables the effective and transparent operation of the market segments. Further, the electricity being generated flows as per the lows of physics and it cannot be stored for longer duration like other commodities. Thus, the electricity market is different than other commodity market where effective market monitoring plays important role. This paper presents the electricity market monitoring and analysis in India, practices followed across the globe.