"Small double track system" does not involve "big double track system" as the people's livelihood factors, but caused a lot of chaos in the electricity market. For example, some users withdraw from the market after the market price rises, forcing the power grid enterprises to settle the price according to the catalog price with them and only enjoy the benefits of market price reduction without bearing market risks. In addition, due to the lack of close connection between medium and long term price and tOF price in some regions, only users who use more electricity in peak period are willing to enter the market and reduce their electricity cost through the market price lower than the peak price of the catalog, while users who use more electricity in valley period continue to enjoy the discount in the bottom of the catalog price. This phenomenon causes the adjustment effect of peak and valley electricity price to be reduced greatly and leads to the loss of power grid enterprises.
The circular requires all industrial and commercial users to enter the market, greatly reducing the space for arbitrage using the unreasonable "dual track system", and greatly improving the efficiency of price-guided resource allocation while ensuring market fairness.
• Rapid expansion of transactions to accelerate mechanism construction
The construction of China's electricity market starts from the "opening of the electricity selling side + medium and long term transaction without curve", which is different from the foreign experience of "starting from the spot market and then adding medium and long term transaction with curve". The advantage of this method lies in the low technical threshold in the initial stage, but the disadvantage is that it does not conform to the physical law of electric power commodities, and it is difficult to improve it later.
At this stage, some market mechanisms are not perfect problems have been highlighted. In 2017, China launched a spot pilot program, but the process is bumpy, with unbalanced funds and other problems in the trial operation of settlement. The degree and way of implementing medium and long term electric power transaction vary from place to place, and there are some problems in some areas, such as unimplemented price adjustment mechanism and unclearly communicated peak and valley signals.
All industrial and commercial users enter the market by power grid agents, which will cause the rapid expansion of the power market and force to solve the problem of imperfect market mechanism. In 2020, China's industrial and commercial users involved in direct transactions will account for about 39% of the total industrial and commercial electricity, which will gradually increase with the implementation of reform measures until it covers all industrial and commercial electricity.
• Market construction accelerates the growth of all entities
From the perspective of mature market subjects, China's electricity market also has many deficiencies, especially in the grid, electricity sales and users. In the power grid side, the interface between competitive business and non-competitive business is unclear due to some objective conditions. This is the factor that affects electricity market fairness and effective operation. On the electricity selling side, the market-oriented electricity selling business relies on the purchase-sale price difference all the year round, and the phenomenon of "channelization" is serious. It lacks the willingness and ability to provide value-added services, and fails to play a role in guiding users to participate in the coordination and optimization of the power system. On the user side, some users have poor risk awareness, do not accept the power price "can rise or fall", and do not have strong willingness to participate in demand response, integrated energy services and other new businesses.
After the implementation of the Notice, power grid enterprises are bound to face clearer regulatory requirements and accelerate to adapt to the position in the pattern of "letting go of both ends and controlling the middle". Sales e-commerce will face a broader market and greater space for innovation; Customers will be faced with a more accurate price terminal signal.
• There are still many problems in the reform that deserve attention
"Notice" opened a new stage of China's electricity market, risks and opportunities come together. Many problems still need more attention and research.
First, coal is the source of recent power supply problems, and the coal power market should be coordinated and straightened out. The root of the negative operation of power generation enterprises is the soaring coal price. The relaxation of the upper limit of transaction electricity price can only play a certain relief role, and has a negative impact on the rise of electricity cost in the whole society. Only when the coal supply returns to a reasonable level can the coal price rise be controlled and the coal power return to its proper role as a basic and reliable power source in the power system.
Second, the supply of affordable electricity is unstable. Hydropower and other low-cost power sources are important sources of low-cost electricity for residents, agriculture and other security users in China. However, with the rapid growth of residential electricity consumption, there have been many provinces where low-cost power supply is not enough to meet the needs of residents, and power grid enterprises need to purchase electricity at high prices in the market to fill the gap, resulting in unbalanced funds. In terms of time periods, there is also the problem that the curve of low-cost power supply does not coincide with that of guaranteed power consumption. The gap appears at the peak, which will also produce unbalanced funds.
Third, the generation side of the market power threat will rise to the surface. The power market of many provinces in China has the problem of large concentration, that is, the installed capacity of single power generation enterprises is large and the total number of power generation enterprises is small. So even if fuel prices fall, there are ways for power generators to maintain high electricity prices and make excess profits. This poses a serious threat to the fairness and effective operation of the power market.
Fourth, power grid enterprises are facing profound changes in their functions and roles. The business structure of power grid enterprises will change from the dual-track system of "transmission and distribution service + unified purchase and marketing" to the "monorail and two types" system of "transmission and distribution service + agent purchase power service". Power grid enterprises will face a series of new situations, and many businesses are carried out in a state of neither experience nor legal policy norms, which may bring certain risks.
Wuhan Xinshengneng is a professional power testing equipment manufacturer. We pay close attention to the development and trends of power grid related industries. For more information, visit our official website: www.whxsn.com
