India’s power sector is undergoing a major transformation as the country rapidly expands its renewable energy capacity. As of February 2026, India’s total installed power generation capacity has reached 524 GW, marking a significant milestone in the country’s clean energy journey. In June 2025, India crossed the important benchmark of having more than 50 percent of its installed capacity come from non-fossil fuel sources, achieving its Paris Agreement commitment five years ahead of schedule. While this progress highlights the country’s strong push toward sustainability, it has also created new operational challenges for the power grid.
The growing share of renewable energy, especially solar and wind power, has increased concerns related to grid balancing and stability because these energy sources are dependent on weather conditions and are naturally intermittent. Sudden changes in wind speed or cloud movement can quickly impact electricity generation, creating fluctuations in supply. At the same time, electricity demand can also vary sharply during the day. These mismatches often force grid operators to curtail renewable energy generation in order to maintain grid security and stability.
To address these issues, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has released a discussion paper proposing major changes to the timelines of India’s Real-Time Market (RTM). The RTM, launched in June 2020, allows distribution companies (Discoms) and power generators to buy and sell electricity closer to the actual time of delivery. The market plays an important role in balancing demand and supply in real time.
Under the existing system, the “gate closure” for schedule revisions and bid submissions takes place 75 minutes before the delivery of power. After this point, no further changes can be made. However, stakeholders, including renewable energy developers and Discoms, have argued that the current 75-minute gap is too long and does not reflect the fast-changing nature of electricity demand and renewable power generation. Forecasting weather conditions and electricity demand accurately more than an hour in advance remains difficult, often resulting in imbalances. These imbalances lead to financial penalties under the Deviation Settlement Mechanism (DSM) and also contribute to unnecessary renewable energy curtailment.
To improve market efficiency, the CERC staff has proposed reducing the total timeline from 75 minutes to 50 minutes before delivery. According to the discussion paper, this change has become possible due to the successful implementation of the National Open Access Registry (NOAR) and the increased use of automation in system operations, which reduces dependence on manual processes.
The proposal includes reducing the RTM bidding window from 15 minutes to just 5 minutes. It also suggests shortening the gate closure for bilateral transaction revisions to 50 minutes before delivery. In addition, the time gap between market clearing and power delivery would be reduced from 45 minutes to 30 minutes through optimization of operational activities such as congestion management and ancillary services procurement.
The proposed framework is expected to provide greater flexibility to market participants, allowing them to respond more effectively to sudden changes in weather and electricity demand. By bringing the market closer to real time, the CERC aims to improve grid stability, reduce forecasting errors, lower financial pressure on Discoms, and support the smoother integration of renewable energy into the national grid. The Commission has invited comments and suggestions from stakeholders before making amendments to the Indian Electricity Grid Code.
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