India’s electricity market is poised for a significant reform, with the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) proposing a framework to formally introduce Virtual Power Purchase Agreements (VPPAs)—a move that could reshape how large energy consumers fulfill their renewable obligations and participate in power trading.

The draft Power Market Regulations, 2025, released this week, would officially recognize VPPAs as a new class of over-the-counter (OTC) financial contracts. Unlike traditional power purchase agreements where buyers take physical delivery of electricity, a VPPA enables a financial settlement between a buyer and a renewable power generator based on a pre-agreed price, while the actual electricity is sold into the open market.

The United States is increasingly leaning toward maintaining elevated tariffs on several Southeast Asian nations amid rising evidence that China is rerouting exports through the region to evade U.S. duties.

Despite ongoing trade talks, analysts note that the U.S. could ultimately settle on an average tariff of 15.5% for Southeast Asian countries. This would reflect growing frustration in Washington over what it views as deliberate transshipment practices by Chinese firms—using third countries to repackage or lightly modify products and then exporting them to the U.S. under different origin labels.

The European Commission is preparing to formally unveil a legally binding plan to end all imports of Russian pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 2027, as part of its broader strategy to sever energy ties with Moscow following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The legislative proposal, scheduled for release on Tuesday, will lock into EU law what had so far been only a political commitment — and it will do so in a way that circumvents potential vetoes from Russia-friendly member states like Hungary and Slovakia. According to an internal Commission summary, the plan proposes a phased prohibition beginning January 1, 2026.