Jayant Deo, CEO and managing director the IEX, told The Indian Express that not only has the demand gone up, but so has the rate at which it is being purchased, from Rs 6 per unit to Rs 9 now.

A total of 22 states are registered on the exchange, the principal sellers being Tripura, Mizoram, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat, and the buyers including Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The Maharashtra government has approved the purchase of electricity from the open market by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL), to overcome a deficit of 4,500-5,000 MW. Electricity in the open market costs Rs 8 per unit, of which the MSEDCL recovers only Rs 3.50 from the consumer, with the remaining Rs 4.50 being forked out by the state government.

Ajoy Mehta, managing director of MSEDCL, said the government would provide a Rs 200-crore grant each month from March till May to the MSEDCL. That would help reduce load-shedding by one hour on an average, Mehta said.