Indian Energy Exchange Q1 results: Net profit rises 26% to ₹121 crore, revenue advances 15%

Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), the country's largest energy exchange, on Thursday, July 24, reported net profit of ₹121 crore in the first quarter of current financial year marking an upside of 26% from ₹96 crore in the same period last year.

Its revenue from operations in April-June period advanced 15% to ₹142 crore from ₹124 crore in the year-ago period.

Electricity volumes in the first quarter rose 15% to 32.4 billion units and the company traded 52.7 lakh renewable energy certificates, up 149% annually.

India successfully met its peak summer power demand of 242 GW in the first quarter, aided by a series of proactive government measures, even as Q1 FY26 electricity consumption fell 1.3% YoY to 446 billion units (BUs) due to cooler weather triggered by early monsoons and unseasonal rains, IEX said in a press release.

The Ministry of Power extended Section 11 of the Electricity Act, mandating imported coal-based power plants to run at full capacity till June-end. In addition, gas-based power plants were activated and domestic coal supply was ramped up to ensure seamless power availability. These actions helped avoid shortages despite earlier estimates forecasting a record peak demand of 277 GW, IEX said.

On the fuel side, coal production stood at 247 million tonnes, largely unchanged from the year-ago period, while coal inventory rose to a robust 25 days by mid-July — highlighting a comfortable fuel position for the sector.

Improved availability from hydro, wind, and coal-based sources also boosted liquidity on power exchanges. In the Day-Ahead Market (DAM), liquidity surged 45.2% YoY, helping push average prices down 16% YoY to ₹4.41/unit. The Real-Time Market (RTM) saw average prices drop 20% to ₹3.91/unit in Q1FY26, IEX said.

Meanwhile, the Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) recorded a milestone quarter, doubling its traded volume to 24.6 million MMBtu, up 109% YoY, driven by rising demand from oil marketing companies and city gas distributors.

On the sustainability front, the International Carbon Exchange (ICX), a wholly owned subsidiary of IEX, issued over 44 lakh International Renewable Energy Certificates (I-RECs) in Q1 FY26.

IEX shares nosedived 28% to close at ₹135.49 on the NSE after Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) on Wednesday said it had decided to begin implementing market coupling in a phased manner for electricity trading from January 2026.

Market coupling is an economic model used in energy markets to create a single, uniform price for electricity across different trading platforms or exchanges.

The regulator's move is aimed at improving price discovery and system efficiency.

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) said in an order that the day-ahead market segment of all power exchanges will be coupled using a common system.