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Power prices doubled: India’s spot electricity hit ₹7.3 a unit in September, up 105%
Electricity on India’s biggest power exchange cost about twice as much in September as a year ago. Indian Energy Exchange says the average day-ahead price was ₹7.3 a unit, up 105%, and the real-time price ₹6.9, up 108%, as buy bids jumped 281%. Country-wide power use rose about 11% and peak demand touched 269 GW on 10 September.
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September 2026 on Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), per its filing:
| Measure | September 2026 | Change YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Day-Ahead Market average price | ₹7.3/unit | +105% |
| Real-Time Market average price | ₹6.9/unit | +108% |
| Buy bids, Day-Ahead Market | — | +281% |
| Total electricity traded on IEX | 12,220 MU | +10.4% |
| India energy consumption (government data cited by IEX) | 162 BU | +11% |
| Peak demand | 269 GW on 10 Sep | — |
The tension: volumes on the exchange rose only about 10%, but prices doubled. IEX puts it down to strong demand: buy bids in the day-ahead market jumped 281%, pushing up clearing prices. A year ago, the day-ahead average works out to about ₹3.6/unit (Capital Chronicle arithmetic from IEX’s 105% figure).
Takeaway: Spot power got expensive in September. That is a cost for power distributors and large buyers that shop on the exchange; household tariffs are set separately by state regulators. Not investment advice.
Analysis
The quarter: steady volume, sharp price jump
| Measure (Q2 FY27, Jul–Sep) | Level | Change YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Total IEX traded volume | 39,685 MU | +12.7% |
| Day-Ahead Market (incl. HPDAM) volume | 14,855 MU | +2.2% |
| Real-Time Market volume | 16,490 MU | +10.5% |
| Term-ahead and contingency contracts | 5,477 MU | +101.5% |
| Day-Ahead average price | ₹5.7/unit | +46% |
| Real-Time average price | ₹5.2/unit | +49% |
| India energy consumption (cited by IEX) | 502 BU | +11.5% |
For the first half (April–September), IEX traded 77.2 BU, up 14.2%. The Real-Time Market set a single-day record of 315 MU on 26 Sep.
Price rose faster through the quarter: the quarter’s day-ahead average was ₹5.7, but September alone was ₹7.3 — so the squeeze got tighter towards the end of the quarter.
Green power: less volume, higher price
- Green market volume: 2,863 MU in Q2, down 5.8%; September 737 MU, down 32%.
- Green Day-Ahead price (September): ₹4.9/unit, up 56.3%.
- Renewable Energy Certificates: 15.27 lakh traded in Q2, down 65.5%; next sessions 14 Oct and 28 Oct.
Why it matters for the economy
- Demand is strong. Energy consumption up about 11% in a quarter points to strong electricity use. IEX does not say which users drove it.
- Costs travel. Exchange prices feed the power purchase costs of distribution companies and industrial buyers. How much of that reaches bills depends on state tariff orders — not automatic.
- Inflation watch: Dabur flagged persistent inflation and deficit rainfall in its September-quarter update (Titan, Kalyan, Dabur updates); Godrej Consumer flagged an uneven monsoon and input inflation (consumer Q2 updates). RBI’s policy statement today will carry its own read on prices (decision-day setup).
A caution on the numbers
These are IEX’s own provisional market statistics. The national consumption and peak-demand figures are as cited by IEX from government data. IEX’s release labels a few Q2 lines as “Q2FY’26” where the context is the current quarter; we use the year-on-year comparisons as IEX states them.
What to watch
- October exchange prices as the monsoon withdraws and festive demand picks up
- RBI’s inflation projections today; September CPI on Mon 12 Oct
- IEX’s Q2 FY27 results
Not investment advice. No politics.
Sources
- Indian Energy Exchange Limited — Media Release: IEX Power Market Update, H1 FY’27, Q2 FY’27 and September ’26, filed 6 Oct 2026 — https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/corporate/IEX_06102026073150_IEX_Media_Release_Power_Market_Update_September26_signed.pdf
- Dabur India Limited — Update for quarter ended 30 Sep 2026, filed 6 Oct 2026 (inflation and deficit rainfall) — https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/corporate/DABURA_06102026125213_Update.pdf
- Capital Chronicle: Titan, Kalyan, Dabur, Honasa Q2 updates · consumer Q2 updates · RBI MPC decision-day setup
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