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HomeSeveral Opinions on Further Deepening the Reform of the Electricity System

Several Opinions on Further Deepening the Reform of the Electricity System

Publish Time: 2024-06-17

In order to implement the spirit of the 18th CPC National Congress and the Third and Fourth Plenary Sessions of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the Sixth Meeting of the Central Financial and Economic Leading Group, and the First Meeting of the National Energy Commission, further deepen the reform of the power system, solve the outstanding contradictions and deep-seated problems that restrict the scientific development of the power industry, promote the sound and rapid development of the power industry, and promote structural transformation and industrial upgrading, the following opinions are put forward.


First, the importance and urgency of the reform of the power system


Since the implementation of the power system reform in 2002, under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the power industry has broken the institutional constraints of exclusive power supply, fundamentally changed the directive planning system and the problems of no distinction between government and enterprises, and no distinction between factories and grids, and initially formed a diversified competition pattern of power market players.


First, it promoted the rapid development of the power industry. In 2014, the national installed power generation capacity reached 1.36 billion kilowatts, the power generation reached 5.5 trillion kilowatt-hours, the circuit length of the power grid 220 kV and above reached 572,000 kilometers, and the transformer capacity of 220 kV and above reached 3.03 billion kilowatt-amperes. The scale of the power grid and the power generation capacity ranked first in the world. Second, the level of universal power service has been improved. Through the transformation of rural power grids and the reform of the rural power management system, the rural power supply capacity and management level have been significantly improved, the reliability of rural power supply has been significantly enhanced, and the same grid and price for urban and rural power consumption have been basically achieved, and the problem of power consumption for the population without electricity has been basically solved. Third, a diversified market system has been initially formed. In terms of power generation, multi-level, multi-ownership, and multi-regional power generation enterprises have been established. In terms of power grids, in addition to the State Grid and the Southern Power Grid, local power grid enterprises such as the Inner Mongolia Power Grid have been established. In terms of auxiliary industries, two integrated design and construction enterprises, China Power Construction and China Energy Construction, have been established. Fourth, the mechanism for forming electricity prices has been gradually improved. In the power generation link, the benchmark price for power generation has been realized. In the transmission and distribution link, the transmission and distribution prices of most provinces have been gradually determined. In the sales link, policies such as differential electricity prices, punitive electricity prices, and residential ladder electricity prices have been successively introduced. Fifth, we have actively explored the market-oriented trading and supervision of electricity. Pilot projects and explorations have been carried out in the areas of bidding for access to the grid, direct transactions between large users and power generation enterprises, power generation rights transactions, and cross-provincial power transactions. Important progress has been made in the market-oriented trading of electricity, and important experience has been accumulated in power supervision.


At the same time, the development of the power industry is still facing some problems that need to be solved through reform, mainly:


First, the trading mechanism is missing and the resource utilization efficiency is not high. The effective competition mechanism on the power sales side has not yet been established, the market transactions between power generation enterprises and users are limited, and the decisive role of the market in allocating resources is difficult to play. Energy-saving, efficient and environmentally friendly units cannot be fully utilized, and the phenomenon of water, wind and light abandonment occurs from time to time. In some areas, power shortages and power shortages coexist. Second, the price relationship has not been straightened out, and the market-oriented pricing mechanism has not yet been fully formed. The current electricity price management is still mainly government-priced, and the adjustment of electricity prices often lags behind cost changes, making it difficult to timely and reasonably reflect the electricity cost, market supply and demand, resource scarcity and environmental protection expenditures. Third, the transformation of government functions is not in place, and the coordination mechanism of various plans is not perfect. There are too many deviations between various special development plans and the actual implementation of power planning and planning. Fourth, the development mechanism is not sound, and the development and utilization of new energy and renewable energy face difficulties. The equipment manufacturing capacity of new energy industries such as photovoltaic power generation does not match the construction, operation and consumption needs. A virtuous cycle of mutual promotion of research and development, production and utilization has not been formed, and the problem of non-discrimination and barrier-free access to the Internet for renewable energy and renewable energy power generation has not been effectively solved. Fifth, the legislative and law-making work is relatively lagging behind, which restricts the marketization and healthy development of the power industry. Some existing power laws and regulations can no longer meet the actual needs of development, and some supporting reform policies have been delayed. It is urgent to revise relevant laws, regulations, policies and standards to provide a basis for the development of the power industry.


Deepening the reform of the power system is an urgent task, which is related to my country's energy security and the overall economic and social development. The Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee proposed that the monopoly industries that continue to be controlled by state-owned capital should implement reforms with the separation of government and enterprises, separation of government and capital, franchise and government supervision as the main contents. The "Main Points of the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reform in 2014" and the "Notice of the State Council on the Opinions of the Development and Reform Commission on Deepening the Key Tasks of Economic System Reform in 2014" have put forward new missions and new requirements for deepening the reform of the power system. The voices of all sectors of society for accelerating the reform of the power system are getting louder and louder, and the social demands and consensus for promoting reform are increasing, which has a relaxed external environment and a solid working foundation.


Second, the overall idea and basic principles of deepening the reform of the power system


(I) Overall idea


The guiding ideology and overall goal of deepening the reform of the power system are: adhere to the direction of socialist market economy reform, proceed from my country's national conditions, adhere to clean, efficient, safe and sustainable development, fully implement the national energy strategy, accelerate the construction of an effective competitive market structure and market system, form a mechanism in which energy prices are mainly determined by the market, change the government's regulatory approach to energy, establish and improve the energy legal system, create a good institutional environment for establishing a modern energy system and ensuring national energy security, fully consider the demands of all parties and the laws of power industry development, and balance reform and stability. Through reform, establish and improve the market system of the power industry with "laws to rely on, separation of government and enterprises, standardized entities, fair transactions, reasonable prices, and effective supervision", strive to reduce electricity costs, rationalize price formation mechanisms, gradually break monopolies, orderly open up competitive businesses, realize supply diversification, adjust industrial structure, improve technical levels, control total energy consumption, improve energy utilization efficiency, improve safety and reliability, promote fair competition, and promote energy conservation and environmental protection.


The key points and paths of deepening the reform of the power system are: on the basis of further improving the separation of government and enterprises, separation of power plants and grids, and separation of primary and secondary businesses, in accordance with the system structure of controlling the middle and opening up the two ends, orderly open up the competitive electricity prices of links other than transmission and distribution, orderly open up the distribution and sales business to social capital, and orderly open up the power generation and consumption plans other than public welfare and regulation; promote the relative independence of trading institutions and standardize their operation; continue to deepen the research on regional power grid construction and the transmission and distribution system suitable for my country's national conditions; further strengthen government supervision, further strengthen power overall planning, and further strengthen the safe and efficient operation and reliable supply of power.


(II) Basic principles


Adhere to safety and reliability. The design of the system and mechanism should follow the technical and economic laws of the real-time, intangible, supply and demand volatility and homogeneity of power commodities, ensure the dynamic balance of the production, transmission and use of electric energy, ensure the safe and stable operation of the power system and the reliable supply of power, and improve the level of power safety and reliability.


Adhere to market-oriented reform. Distinguish between competitive and monopolistic links, carry out effective competition on the power generation and sales sides, cultivate independent market players, strive to build a power trading pattern with diversified players and orderly competition, form an electricity price mechanism that adapts to market requirements, stimulate the internal vitality of enterprises, and enable the market to play a decisive role in resource allocation.


Adhere to the protection of people's livelihood. In light of my country's national conditions and the current development status of the power industry, fully consider the bearing capacity of enterprises and society, and ensure the supply of basic public services. Properly handle the issue of cross-subsidy, improve the ladder pricing mechanism, ensure that the electricity prices for residents, agriculture, important public utilities and public welfare services are relatively stable, and effectively protect people's livelihood.


Adhere to energy conservation and emission reduction. Starting from the overall implementation of the national security strategy, actively carry out power demand side management and energy efficiency management, improve the orderly power consumption and power conservation system, and promote economic structure adjustment, energy conservation and emission reduction and industrial upgrading. Strengthen scientific and technological innovation in the energy field, promote the transformation of the development mode of the power industry and the optimization of the energy structure, improve the quality and efficiency of development, and increase the proportion of renewable energy generation and distributed energy system generation in power supply.


Adhere to scientific supervision. Better play the role of the government, and focus on strengthening the formulation and implementation of development strategies, plans, policies, standards, etc., and strengthen market supervision. Improve electricity regulatory agencies, measures and means, improve government regulatory methods, and improve the level of scientific supervision of technology, safety, transactions, operations, etc.


Third, the key tasks for promoting the reform of the power system in the near future


(I) Promote the reform of electricity prices in an orderly manner and rationalize the mechanism for forming electricity prices


1. Separately determine the transmission and distribution prices. The scope of government pricing is mainly limited to important public utilities, public welfare services and network natural monopoly links. The government mainly determines the transmission and distribution prices, announces them to the public, and accepts social supervision. The transmission and distribution prices are gradually transitioned to the principle of "allowable cost plus reasonable profit" and determined by voltage level. Users or electricity sellers pay the transmission and distribution prices corresponding to the voltage level of the power grid they are connected to.


2. Step by step, the sales price of electricity other than public welfare is formed by the market. Open up the electricity prices in competitive links and separate the transmission and distribution prices from the sales prices in terms of formation mechanism. Reasonably determine the subsidy standard for biomass power generation. The on-grid electricity prices of power generation enterprises participating in power market transactions are determined independently by users or power sellers and power generation enterprises through negotiation, market bidding, etc. The purchase price of electricity for users participating in power market transactions consists of three parts: market transaction price, transmission and distribution price (including line loss), and government funds. Other on-grid electricity that does not participate in direct trading and competitive bidding, as well as electricity used by residents, agriculture, important public utilities and public welfare services, will continue to be subject to government pricing.


3. Properly handle cross-subsidies in electricity prices. In conjunction with the progress of electricity price reform, reform the cross-subsidies between different types of electricity prices. During the transition period, the power grid companies shall declare the amount of cross-subsidies between the existing electricity prices of various types of users and recover them through transmission and distribution prices.


(II) Promote the reform of the power trading system and improve the market-oriented trading mechanism


4. Standardize the access standards for market entities. According to the access voltage level, energy consumption level, emission level, industrial policy and regional differentiated policy, determine and announce the access standards for power generation enterprises, power sales entities and users who can participate in direct trading. Users are allowed to participate in direct trading in phases and batches according to the voltage level. The unit energy consumption and environmental emissions of enterprises participating in direct trading should meet national standards. Enterprises that do not comply with national industrial policies and whose products and processes are eliminated shall not participate in direct trading. Further improve and innovate the system to support environmentally friendly and efficient, especially ultra-low emission units, to generate more electricity through direct trading and scientific scheduling. After the access standards are determined, the upgraded government will publish the directory of local power generation enterprises and power sales entities that meet the standards annually, implement dynamic supervision on the user directory, and the power generation enterprises, power sales entities and users that enter the directory can voluntarily register with the trading institution to become market entities.


5. Guide market entities to carry out multi-party direct transactions. Orderly explore the granting of autonomous selection rights to power generation enterprises, power sales entities and users that meet the standards, determine the transaction objects, electricity volume and prices, pay the corresponding transmission fees to the power grid enterprises in accordance with the national transmission and distribution prices, negotiate contracts directly, and realize multi-party direct transactions. Short-term and instant transactions are realized through dispatching and trading institutions, providing more economical and high-quality power guarantees for various users such as industrial and commercial enterprises.


6. Encourage the establishment of a long-term and stable trading mechanism. Build a bilateral market model that reflects the will of market entities and is long-term stable. No department or unit shall interfere with the legal trading behavior of market entities. The two parties to the direct transaction decide on the transaction matters through independent negotiation and sign a tripartite contract involving the power grid enterprise in accordance with laws and regulations. Encourage users and power generation enterprises to sign long-term and stable contracts, and establish and improve a trading balance mechanism to achieve contract adjustment and deviation electricity processing.


7. Establish a new mechanism for sharing and sharing of auxiliary services. Adapt to the new requirements of auxiliary services such as peak load regulation, frequency regulation, voltage regulation and user interruptible load, and improve the new assessment mechanism and compensation mechanism for auxiliary services of grid-connected power generation enterprises. According to the reliability of the power grid and the service quality, and in accordance with the principle of who benefits and who bears, establish a service sharing mechanism involving users. Users can voluntarily choose to sign contracts such as power supply guarantee agreements and interruptible load agreements with power generation enterprises or power grid enterprises based on their own load characteristics, agree on their respective service rights and obligations, bear the necessary auxiliary service fees, or obtain corresponding economic compensation according to their contributions.


8. Improve the inter-provincial and inter-regional power trading mechanism. In accordance with the national energy strategy and the principles of economy, energy conservation, environmental protection and safety, adopt a trading model with medium- and long-term transactions as the main and temporary transactions as the supplement, promote inter-provincial and inter-regional power market transactions, and promote the optimization of power resources in a larger range. Encourage qualified regions to establish a standardized inter-provincial and inter-regional power market trading mechanism under the guidance of the government, so as to encourage power surplus areas to better transmit power to power shortage areas, and give full play to the role of the market in allocating resources and adjusting surplus and shortage. Actively carry out inter-provincial and inter-regional auxiliary service transactions. When the time is ripe, explore the development of power futures and over-the-counter power derivatives transactions to provide forward price benchmarks and risk management tools for power generation companies, power sales entities and users.


(III) Establish a relatively independent power trading institution to form a fair and standardized market trading platform


9. Position the functions of power grid enterprises in accordance with the laws of market economy and the technical characteristics of electricity. Change the situation where power grid enterprises integrate power transmission, power unified purchase and sale, and dispatching transactions. Power grid enterprises are mainly engaged in power grid investment and operation, power transmission and distribution, responsible for the security of the power grid system, ensuring fair and non-discriminatory opening of the power grid, and fulfilling the obligation of universal power service in accordance with national regulations. Continue to improve the separation of primary and secondary businesses.


10. Reform and standardize the operation model of power grid enterprises. Power grid enterprises no longer use the difference between the on-grid electricity price and the sales electricity price as a source of income, and charge network fees according to the transmission and distribution price approved by the government. Ensure the stable source of income and income level of power grid enterprises. Standardize the investment and asset management behavior of power grid enterprises.


11. Establish and standardize the operation of power trading institutions. Separate the trading business originally undertaken by power grid enterprises from other businesses to achieve relatively independent operation of trading institutions. Power trading institutions provide services for power market transactions in accordance with the charter and rules approved by the government. Relevant government departments shall implement effective supervision over power trading institutions in accordance with their duties.


12. Improve the market functions of power trading institutions. Power trading institutions are mainly responsible for the construction, operation and management of market trading platforms, market trading organizations, providing settlement basis and services, summarizing bilateral contracts signed independently by users and power generation enterprises, and responsible for the registration and corresponding management of market entities, disclosing and publishing market information, etc.


(IV) Promote the reform of power generation and consumption plans and give more play to the role of market mechanisms


13. Orderly reduce power generation and consumption plans. According to the degree of market development, the amount of electricity and capacity directly traded will no longer be included in the power generation and consumption plan. Encourage new industrial users and newly approved power generation units to actively participate in power market transactions, and their electricity will be mainly traded in the market as soon as possible.


14. Improve the government's public welfare regulatory service functions. The government retains necessary public welfare regulatory power generation and consumption plans to ensure the power consumption of residents, agriculture, important public utilities and public welfare services, ensure the maintenance of peak and frequency regulation and safe operation of the power grid, and ensure that renewable energy power generation is purchased in accordance with the plan. Actively carry out power demand side management and energy efficiency management, and promote supply and demand balance and energy conservation and emission reduction through the use of modern information technology, the cultivation of power services, and the implementation of demand response. Strengthen the power supply guarantee in old, remote, poor and remote areas to ensure full coverage of electricity for the population without electricity.


15. Further improve the level of supply and demand balance guarantee based on demand-side management. Relevant government departments should follow the market-oriented direction, start from both the demand side and the supply side, and balance the overall power volume. Improve the safety and reliability of power supply. Carry out orderly power consumption work in a regular and refined manner to effectively ensure that the key power demand of residents and other key users is not affected under tight supply and demand. Strengthen the construction of power emergency capabilities, improve the level of emergency response, and ensure social order stability under emergency conditions.


(V) Steadily promote the reform of the power sales side and orderly open up the power sales business to social capital


16. Encourage social capital to invest in the distribution business. In accordance with the requirements that are conducive to promoting the construction and development of the distribution network and improving the efficiency of distribution operations, explore effective ways for social capital to invest in the distribution business. Gradually open up the incremental distribution investment business to qualified market entities, and encourage the development of the distribution business in a mixed ownership mode.


17. Establish a market entity access and exit mechanism. According to the requirements of opening the power sales market and the actual conditions of various places, scientifically define the conditions of power sales entities that meet the requirements of technology, safety, environmental protection, energy conservation and social responsibility. Clarify the market access and exit rules for power sales entities, strengthen supervision, and effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of all relevant parties. Grid companies should provide various power supply services such as registration, metering, meter reading, and maintenance to power sales entities and their users without discrimination, fulfill the obligations of the bottom-line supplier as agreed, and ensure that users without bargaining power also have electricity available.


18. Cultivate market entities through multiple channels. Allow qualified high-tech industrial parks or economic and technological development zones to establish power sales entities to purchase electricity directly; encourage social capital to invest in the establishment of power sales entities, allowing them to purchase electricity from power generation companies and sell it to users; allow users or microgrid systems with distributed power sources to participate in power transactions; encourage public service industries such as water supply, gas supply, and heat supply and energy-saving service companies to engage in power sales business; allow qualified power generation companies to invest and establish power sales entities to enter the power sales market and engage in power sales business.


19. Give market entities corresponding rights and responsibilities. Power sales entities can adopt various methods to purchase electricity through the power market, including purchasing electricity from power generation companies, purchasing electricity through centralized bidding, and purchasing electricity from other power sales companies. The electricity sales entity, the user, and other relevant parties shall sign a contract in accordance with the law, clarify the corresponding rights and obligations, and agree on transactions, services, charges, settlements and other matters. The electricity sales entity is encouraged to innovate services and provide users with value-added services including contract energy management, comprehensive energy conservation and energy consumption consultation. All kinds of electricity production methods must strictly bear obligations such as electricity funds, policy subsidies, universal services, and social responsibilities in accordance with relevant national regulations.


(VI) Open up fair access to the power grid and establish a new mechanism for the development of distributed power sources


20. Actively develop distributed power sources. Distributed power sources mainly adopt the operation mode of "self-generation and self-use, surplus power access to the grid, and grid regulation". On the premise of ensuring safety, actively develop microgrids and smart grid technologies that integrate advanced energy storage technology and information technology to improve the system's absorption capacity and energy utilization efficiency.


21. Improve grid-connected operation services. Accelerate the revision and improvement of technical standards, engineering specifications and related management methods for access to the grid, support the access to the grid of new energy, renewable energy, energy conservation and consumption reduction and comprehensive resource utilization units, actively promote the effective connection of new energy and renewable energy power generation with other films and power grids, conscientiously implement the guaranteed purchase system for renewable energy power generation in accordance with the plan, and solve the problem of non-discrimination and barrier-free access to the grid. Accelerate the formulation and improvement of national technical standards for the research and development, manufacturing, assembly, grid connection, maintenance, and transformation of new energy and renewable energy.


22. Strengthen and standardize the supervision and management of self-owned power plants. Standardize the access standards for self-owned power plants. The construction and operation of self-owned power plants should comply with the national energy industry policy and power planning and layout requirements, strictly implement the national energy-saving and environmental protection emission standards, fairly bear social responsibilities, and fulfill the corresponding peak-shaving obligations. Enterprises with self-owned power plants should bear government funds, policy subsidies and system standby fees that are consistent with the self-owned power plant industry policy in accordance with regulations. Improve and standardize the support policies for self-owned power plants for comprehensive utilization of resources such as waste heat, waste pressure, waste gas, and gas extraction. Standardize existing self-owned power plants to become qualified market entities and allow them to participate in power market transactions under the condition of fairly bearing the social responsibilities of power generation enterprises.


23. Fully open up the user-side distributed power supply market. Actively carry out various pilots and demonstrations of distributed power supply projects. Open up the construction of distributed power sources on the user side, support enterprises, institutions, communities and families to invest in the construction of various types of distributed power sources such as solar energy, wind energy, biomass energy power generation and gas "heat, power and cooling" cogeneration according to their respective conditions and local conditions, and allow access to distribution networks and terminal power systems of various voltage levels. Encourage professional energy service companies to cooperate with users or build distributed power sources in the "contract energy management" model.


(VII) Strengthen the overall planning and scientific supervision of electricity, and improve the level of power safety and reliability


24. Effectively strengthen the overall planning of the power industry, especially the power grid. Relevant government departments should conscientiously perform their power planning responsibilities, optimize the layout of power sources and power grids, and strengthen the effective connection between power planning and power light planning, and between national power planning and local power planning. Improve the coverage, authority and scientific nature of the planning, enhance the transparency and public participation of the planning, and various power source construction and power grid layouts should be strictly planned and organized and implemented in an orderly manner. Power planning should fully consider the carrying capacity of resources and the environment, and carry out environmental impact assessment of the planning in accordance with the law. After the plan is reviewed through legal procedures, it should be made public. Establish a work mechanism for inspection, supervision, evaluation and assessment of the implementation of the plan to ensure the effective implementation of the power plan.


25. Effectively strengthen scientific supervision of the power industry and related fields. Improve the power supervision organization system, innovate supervision measures and means, effectively carry out power trading, dispatching, power supply services and safety supervision, strengthen the supervision of fair access to the power grid, power grid investment behavior, cost and investment operation efficiency, effectively guarantee the access of new energy to the grid, promote energy conservation and emission reduction, and ensure the safe and reliable operation of residents' power supply and power grid. Strengthen and improve the self-discipline, coordination, supervision and service functions of industry associations, and give full play to their role as a bridge between the government, users and enterprises.


26. Reduce and standardize administrative approval in the power industry. Further transform government functions, streamline administration and delegate power, cancel and delegate the approval authority of power projects, effectively implement planning, clarify review conditions and standards, standardize and simplify approval procedures, improve market planning, and ensure the effective implementation of power development strategies, policies and standards.


27. Establish and improve the credit system of market entities. Strengthen the integrity of market entities and standardize market order. Relevant departments should establish credit records of corporate legal persons, their responsible persons and employees, and incorporate them into a unified credit information platform to make the credit status of various types of enterprises transparent, traceable and verifiable. Strengthen supervision, make public the illegal and dishonest behaviors of enterprises and individuals, and implement strict industry entry ban measures for serious illegal and dishonest behaviors that affect power safety.


28. Speed up the revision of power laws and regulations. According to the overall requirements and progress of the reform, speed up the revision of the Power Law and the research and drafting of relevant administrative regulations, and give full play to the role of legislation in guiding, promoting, regulating and safeguarding the reform. Strengthen the administration of power according to law. Increase the implementation of the Renewable Energy Law. Accelerate the formulation of energy regulatory laws and regulations, adapt to the requirements of legal and effective supervision, and formulate and revise other relevant laws, regulations and rules in a timely manner.


Fourth, strengthen the organization and implementation of the power system reform work. The power system reform work is related to economic development, people's lives and social stability. It is necessary to strengthen organizational leadership, mobilize the enthusiasm of all parties in accordance with the requirements of overall design, key breakthroughs, step-by-step implementation, orderly advancement and pilot projects first, and ensure that the reform is standardized, orderly and steadily advanced. (I) Strengthen organizational coordination. Improve the mechanism of the power system reform working group, formulate practical and feasible special reform work plans and related supporting measures, further clarify the division of responsibilities, clarify the responsibilities of the central, local and enterprises, and ensure the smooth advancement of the power system reform work. (II) Actively create an atmosphere. Strengthen communication and coordination with the news media, increase publicity and reporting on the power system reform, create a strong atmosphere for promoting the power system reform in the whole society, strengthen communication and coordination of the reform work, fully mobilize the enthusiasm of all parties, build consensus and form a working synergy. (III) Steadily and orderly advancement. The power system reform is a systematic project, which must be promoted in an orderly, effective and steady manner on the basis of consensus of all parties. Gradually expand the scope of the pilot reform of transmission and distribution prices. For major reform issues such as power sales reform and the establishment of relatively independent power trading institutions, pilot projects can be carried out first, and then fully implemented on the basis of summarizing the pilot experience and revising and improving relevant laws and regulations.

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