On April 1, CERC had lowered the price cap on the day-ahead and real-time market segments of exchanges. This had led to up to 70% drop in selling bids in these segments, while prices in the uncapped futures market had risen from ₹5 to ₹13 as they attracted power sellers. The cap directive was based on requests from certain states and industries.

All states face maximum shortages

They had alleged market disruption and profiteering by power generators.

National electricity consumption hit a record 207 GW on Friday, up from 205 GW the day before, the Energy Ministry tweeted. Data available from network management authority POSOCO showed a peak hour deficit of 10.8 GW on Thursday, the highest since 2012, when it hit 12 GW. All states faced peak shortages on Thursday, which some like West Bengal, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh encountered by drawing large amounts from the power grid in the open. The total power shortage was 192 million units.