IEX shares plunge over 6% after CERC's latest update on market coupling norms. Check details

Shares of Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) plunged over 6% to the day’s low of Rs 127.50 on the BSE on Monday after the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) released a draft framework for market coupling regulations, naming Grid India as the market coupling operator (MCO).

This comes after IEX’s plea against CERC’s earlier proposed framework on market coupling was dismissed. Market coupling aims to improve price discovery and efficiency by ensuring a uniform price in different electricity markets.

All about CERC's draft market coupling framework

CERC, in its latest draft notification titled ‘Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Power Market) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2026', proposed to insert a new sub-clause that said that Grid India will act as the Market Coupling Operator (MCO) and will be responsible for the operation and management of market coupling.

CERC added that the price discovery will be done by the MCO from the date which may be notified later. Until then, power exchanges can continue their price discovery process. As part of its draft framework, power exchanges will collect bids in a uniform format from market participants and then transfer these anonymous bids to the MCO, which will aggregate them for each market segment and conduct the price discovery process.

“Grid India, with the approval of the Commission, shall formulate the Power Market Coupling Procedure (PMCP) for the implementation of Market Coupling, within six months of the notification of these amendments,” the commission said, while inviting feedback from the public and other stakeholders by May 16, 2026.

IEX share price

IEX holds a 99.7% market share, with some experts pointing out that the proposed framework could disrupt the existing power market structure. Apart from IEX, India has two other power exchanges - Power Exchange India and Hindustan Power Exchange. IEX had argued that redistribution of market share was the only outcome of market coupling.

IEX shares have declined around 28% in one year, as the market coupling framework remains a key overhang for the stock. The stock has gained around 5% in one week, and over 12% in one month, but has declined more than 12% in three years.

Earlier this month, the stock rallied after its board granted in-principle approval to explore a coal exchange, tapping into a nascent opportunity backed by the Ministry of Coal's Draft Coal Exchange Rules. “Assuming final rules are issued shortly, we believe the award could take place in 12–15 months, pushing the setup of the coal exchange well into FY28,” Motilal Oswal Financial Services said. The domestic brokerage held a ‘Neutral’ rating for the stock, and a target price of Rs 127 apiece, implying a downside potential of more than 6% from the stock’s previous closing price of Rs 135.81 apiece on NSE.

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