India's 1st online electricity trading exchange begins operations

New Delhi, Jul 16 (UNI) Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde today inaugurated the country's first online electricity trading platform, Indian Energy Exchange (IEX).

Speaking on the occasion. Mr Shinde said the establishment of the IEX is necessary for meeting the demand and supply gap of electricity that exists in the country.

IEX places the Indian power market at par with the most sophisticated exchanges in the world. The technologies comes from an alliance between Financial Technologies India Ltd (FTIL) and OMX Technologies of Sweden, the technology-provider to the world's leading power exchange, NORDPOOL, which perhaps the most efficient power exchange in the world and also the most liquid in Europe, he added.

He said the IEX has progressed rapidly from being just a concept in March 2007, when Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) received the first application to set up a Power Exchange towards commencing power trading on the platform this June.

The growing number of transactions at the exchange is further testimony to the fact that the industry has been in need of such an exchange to meet the rising mismatch between power demand and supply in various parts of the country, he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Power Secretary Anil Razdan congratulated the FTIL and Power Trading Corporation (PTC) India for such an exemplary vision and mission.

IEX Chairman Venkat Chary said, ''it is satisfying to see the IEX go live. The hard work of the entire industry has paid off with the commencement of power trading in the country.'' With the IEX going live, it has enabled India join the select group of developed countries which have power trading markets, he added.

The CERC has issued the guidelines for setting up power exchanges, with the objective of fulfilling the mandate given in the Electricity Act, 2003 for developing competitive power markets in the country.

''The operation of pwoer exchange has become feasible due to transparent and non-discriminatory inter-State open access regime implemented by the commission,'' CERC Chairperson Pramod Deo said.

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