IEX nears record high post December power mkt update, soars 24% in 3 days

Shares of Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) rallied 9 per cent to hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 174 on the BSE on Monday as power demand zoomed in December 2019.

The stock of the electric utilities company has soared 24 per cent in the past three trading days in an otherwise weak market. It was trading near its all-time high of Rs 178, touched on November 9, 2018.

“The electricity market at IEX recorded a total trade of 4,768 million units (MU) in December 2019. The market witnessed a 51 per cent year on year (YoY) and 25 per cent month on month (MoM) increase in traded volumes,” IEX said in a December power market update on Friday.

The increase in traded volumes on the Exchange was largely due to a surge in demand from the northern and southern states. The northern states experienced intense cold wave this month leading to an increase in peak demand in several states, it said.

After a dip in demand over the last three months, the all-India peak demand in December 2019 rose to 170 GW, up 5 per cent YoY over demand of 163 GW in December’18 and up 9.6 per cent MoM from 155 GW in November’19.

However, average spot power price in December 2019 fell 11 per cent to Rs 2.93 per unit as compared to the year-ago period at the exchange, mainly due to higher supplies than demand.

In the day-ahead market (DAM), the total monthly sell bids were 10,195 MU while buy bids were 5,260 MU. This indicates lower demand and higher supplies in the power market at the exchange.

IEX is the first and the largest energy exchange in India, providing a nationwide, automated trading platform for physical delivery of electricity, Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), and ESCerts (Energy Saving Certificates).

At 11:30 am, IEX was trading 5 per cent higher at Rs 168, against 1.5 per cent decline in the Sensex. The counter has seen huge trading volumes with a combined 1.32 million equity shares changing hands on the NSE and BSE.