The Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) reported an 88 per cent year-on-year rise in trade volumes to 145 million standard cubic metres (mscm) in September, as unusually warm and humid weather lifted demand for natural gas across India.India’s overall gas consumption stood at 145.91 billion units (BUs), marking a 3.2 per cent annual increase.According to IGX, 40 per cent of September’s traded volume came from Intraday and Day-Ahead contracts, with 51 trades executed in Intraday and 30 in Day-Ahead segments. The exchange’s benchmark price index, GIXI, averaged Rs 1,040 (about $11.8) per mBtu, reflecting a 9 per cent year-on-year decline but a 3 per cent month-on-month rise.Prices followed a downward trend in line with global markets, primarily due to lower gas demand internationally during the same period.Rajesh Mediratta, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of IGX, said power demand peaked at around 229 gigawatts (GW) in September amid the receding monsoon and high humidity, with power prices touching Rs 10 per kilowatt hour for four to five hours during evening peaks.“With the significant addition of solar power capacity, there is no shortage during daytime. However, as the sun sets, gas-based power plants are better suited to meet short-duration evening demand, since they can operate flexibly for four to five hours,” Mediratta explained. These plants were dispatched under ancillary services based on directions from the National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC), Grid India.Because of limited visibility on generation schedules, many power plants chose to buy gas on daily and intra-day contracts through IGX. The exchange has extended trading sessions till 5 p.m. to facilitate same-day and day-ahead gas procurement.Mediratta also acknowledged the cooperation of pipeline operators in offering capacity booking at short notice. On two weekends, IGX made its platform available to help power plants secure gas supplies. Notably, NTPC’s power plants in Western and Northern India used this facility to meet short-term generation needs, a flexibility coal-fired plants typically lack.However, Mediratta noted that the recent surge in gas demand from the power sector is unlikely to persist, as cooler weather conditions and rainfall are expected to reduce electricity demand. October’s peak power demand is hovering around 200–210 GW.During the first half of FY26, IGX achieved record trading volumes of 40.7 million mBtu (equivalent to about 1,026 mscm), marking a robust 72 per cent year-on-year growth. Of this total, 42 per cent represented free-market gas while 58 per cent was domestic high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) gas sold at the ceiling price.A total of 1,031 trades were executed during the six-month period, with monthly contracts accounting for 64 per cent of total volume, followed by fortnightly (12 per cent), day-ahead (8 per cent), weekly (7 per cent), daily (4 per cent), intraday (3 per cent), six-month (1 per cent), and three-month (1 per cent) contracts.Gadimoga emerged as the most active delivery point, contributing 44 per cent of total trades, followed by Dahej at 17 per cent.In September, IGX also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with PRISMA, Europe’s largest gas transport capacity booking platform, to promote transparent, efficient, and sustainable gas markets by combining European and Indian expertise.