An enhanced energy efficiency scheme, “Perform, Achieve and Trade” (PAT) is explored in relation to the existing carbon market in India, particularly the Clean Development Mechanism, Renewable Energy Certification and possible Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions. The PAT scheme incentivises energy-intensive large industries and facilities for Enhance Energy Efficiency, through technology upgrade and improvement in process. The PAT scheme currently identified 478 designated consumers from eight energy intensive industrial sectors namely, thermal power plants, iron and steel, cement, textiles, chlor-alkali, aluminum, fertilisers and pulp & paper. The threshold limit in thermal power plant sector to become a PAT designated consumer is 30,000 tonne of oil equivalent annual energy consumption. In the first PAT cycle, run through 2012 to 2015, total 144 designated consumers from various states have been identified with individual target. Thermal power plant sector has been categorized on the basis of their fuel input into three subsectors i.e. gas, oil and coal based plants. This paper reviews the state of the art in PAT mechanism design and operational features for implementation on thermal power plant sector. The possibility of implementing an Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) in India is explored from political and institutional perspectives.