Amid surge in power generation, volume of natural gas traded on IGX platform triples YoY

NEW DELHI: The volume of natural gas traded on Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) more than tripled year-on-year in Sept to a record 17.8 trillion British thermal units (TBtu), with power generators accounting for a large share of the surge in free-market gas purchases.The traded volume was 40.6% higher than in Aug and surpassed the previous monthly record of 15.9 TBtu, recorded in April 2025.India’s power consumption in Sept rose 11.3% year-on-year to 162 billion units, driven by cooling and irrigation demand amid a monsoon deficit.IGX said power generators bought 10.4 TBtu of the 12.8 TBtu of free-market gas traded on the exchange during the month. The Sept purchase was more than twice the 4.5 TBtu bought by gas-based power plants through IGX during the entire April-May period. Peak power demand had reached an all-time high of 271 GW in May 2026, driven by intense summer cooling requirements.While the total installed capacity of gas-based power plants is 20.1 GW, only 11.2 GW was available in Sept. These plants generated 3,905 million units of electricity, 60% more than the 2,440 million units produced in the same month in 2025. Despite their small share in the overall generation mix, gas-based plants play a balancing role during evening peak hours, when solar output falls. This role has become more significant as hydropower generation has declined amid a rainfall deficit.“The traded volume during Sep’26 increased by 208.2% YoY and 40.6% MoM, primarily driven by higher demand from the power sector, which raised overall gas demand on the exchange,” said Rajesh Kumar Mediratta, MD & CEO, Indian Gas Exchange.Nearly 66% of the gas bought by the power sector in Sept was traded through balance-of-month contracts, while another 30.3% was traded through intraday and day-ahead contracts, IGX said.Gas prices also rose sharply during the month. IGX’s benchmark GIXI price increased 29% from Aug to Rs 2,712 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in Sept, 161% higher than a year earlier.The strong performance in Sept took IGX’s traded volume in the first half of FY27 to a record 69.5 TBtu, up 70.8% from the year-earlier period. Free-market gas accounted for 57.1% of the H1 volume, while domestic HPHT gas made up 42.9%.