Risks and hedging avenues for power market participants: A novel framework and application to India

The evolution of India’s power market, driven by rising share of renewable energy and changes in the regulatory and policy environment, has exposed the sector stakeholders to new financial and operational risks. However, a comprehensive framework to systematically identify these risks and map them to effective hedging strategies is lacking. This study addresses this gap by developing and applying the novel Power Market Three-Dimensional Stakeholder Risk Identification and Hedging Avenues (PM-3D-SRIHA) framework. Utilizing a multi-stage methodology involving literature review, stakeholder consultation, and focused expert survey, this research identifies and ranks key risks for seven stakeholder groups. Key findings highlight persistent challenges such as payment risk for distribution companies (Discoms) and fuel supply risk for thermal generators. The study also ranks the most effective hedging avenues, identifying role for prepaid meters, diversified fuel supply, and electricity derivatives to address some of the major risks. The resulting framework provides actionable insights for market participants and offers regulatory and policy recommendations to enhance market stability and financial resilience in India's dynamic power sector.