Recently, after deliberation and approval at the 22nd Meeting of the Commission for Deepening Overall Reform of the CPC Central Committee, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration issued the Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of a Unified National Power Market System (DEVELOPMENT and Reform [2022] No. 118, hereinafter referred to as the Opinions). In the context of the recent global shortage of fossil energy supply, the new electricity reform has been carried out for seven years and the new power system is about to be built. The Opinions aim at establishing long-term mechanisms and solving short-term problems, and will promote the marketization of the planning mechanism.
The main content of the Opinions can be summarized in twenty words: "Formulate goals, clarify systems, improve functions, improve mechanisms, strengthen supervision and promote transformation".
"Setting goals" refers to the phased goals of the national unified power market system set in the Opinions. The first stage is to the end of the "14th Five-year Plan" (2025), the initial completion of the national unified power market system, the national market and provincial/regional market coordinated operation, to achieve medium and long-term electricity trading, spot market and auxiliary service market integrated design, joint operation; The second stage is by the end of the 15th Five-year Plan (2030), the national unified power market system will be basically completed to meet the requirements of the new power system, and the national market and provincial/regional market will operate jointly.
"Clear system" means that the Opinions have determined the functional positioning of all levels of markets in the national electricity market system. Provincial market plays a basic role in the national unified power market system, which is responsible for ensuring the basic balance of electricity in the province and optimizing the allocation of power resources in the province. Regional market to carry out trans-provincial power long-term transaction and frequency modulation, standby auxiliary service transaction, optimize the allocation of regional power resources; The national electricity market is responsible for sharing and optimizing the allocation between provincial and regional markets. According to the actual situation, "appropriate province is province, appropriate area is area"; In the future, provincial market can be integrated into regional market, or directly integrated with national power market when conditions are available.
"Perfect functions" refers to the unified functional modules of the power market determined in the Opinions. The basic functional modules of power market include power spot market, medium and long term market and auxiliary service market. The spot market is responsible for discovering the real-time price of electricity, accurately reflecting the relationship between supply and demand, and realizing the peak adjustment of the power system. Medium - and long-term electricity trading is responsible for balancing long-term supply and demand, stabilizing market expectations and playing a fundamental role; The ancillary services market is responsible for representing the market value of flexible regulatory resources.
"Perfect mechanism" refers to the unified mode of trading mechanism of electricity market at all levels determined in the Opinions. First, the unification of trading mechanism comes from the basic rules and data interface standards of the unified technical support system, which is the basis of unification. Secondly, the unification of the trading mechanism comes from the perfect electricity price formation mechanism. The wholesale side "liberalizes both sides", the generating side gradually promotes all types of power supply, and the power consumption side orderly promotes all industrial and commercial users to enter each functional module of the electricity market. Power grid enterprises with intermediate natural monopoly links should promote separate settlement of power transmission and distribution businesses and power purchase and sale businesses, and accelerate the establishment of transmission rights distribution and trading mechanisms, which are key conditions for unification. Thirdly, the unification of trading mechanism, from the division of market trading and dispatching operation interface, the traditional functions of power dispatching operation and safety management should be strengthened, but the transaction results of power market must be implemented in accordance with laws and regulations, which is the necessary condition of unification; Finally, the unification of trading mechanism comes from information sharing and disclosure. "Street light is the best police and sunshine is the best disinfectant", which is the decisive condition of unification.
"Strengthening supervision" refers to the key areas identified in the Opinions for "enabling the government" to perform its functions. Crucial market allocation of resources and better give play to the role of government is not a contradiction, "opinion" for the first time made clear in the process of resource allocation, government function is the main one is to adapt to the market environment of power planning, yields and economic behavior of electric power project to evaluate on the electricity market environment; Second, to strengthen the power market supervision, especially to strengthen the natural monopoly of power grid enterprises supervision, improve the power grid fair and open supervision; Third, perfect the power market credit system, emphasize the "heteronomy" of the market (government supervision), and also emphasize the self-discipline and social supervision of market subjects and market members; Fourth, improve the emergency power supply system, through the capacity cost recovery mechanism, auxiliary service market, to solve the survival of emergency standby and peak-shaving power supply, to ensure the safety of power supply.
"Promoting transformation" means that the Opinions have determined that the existing market design and improvement direction is to adapt to and promote the construction of new power system. As new energy proportion is higher and higher in the power-generation, from new energy market mechanism has been impossible, and new power system requires a high level of adjustment ability, must come from the market mechanism, thus "opinions" put forward is to enhance adaptability of power market, the increase of renewable energy features need to market a "liquidity", New energy is encouraged to participate in the market by quoting quantity, and for the first time, it is proposed that "the quantity of electricity failed to win the bid will not be included in the assessment of wind and light abandoning quantity" and realize peak regulation service through spot market; Second, in line with the production characteristics of "large quantity of electricity and small capacity" of new energy, promote the traditional units in the new power system to provide "small quantity of electricity and large capacity" instead of "large quantity of electricity and large capacity", and establish a capacity cost recovery mechanism to meet the needs of this change. The realization of traditional units mainly depends on the survival and development of the new investment return mechanism by providing the effective capacity required by the new power system (i.e. providing the "large capacity" during the peak load period); Third, explore the development of green electricity trading, through the market to find the environmental value of green electricity, do a good job of green electricity trading, green card trading, carbon emissions trading effective connection; Fourth, improve the market trading institutions for distributed power generation. Encourage the "sale of electricity through the wall", encourage the local balance of electricity, achieve the organic unity of the local balance of new energy and expand the scope of consumption.
The Opinions were reviewed and adopted at the 22nd meeting of the Commission for Deepening Overall Reform of the CPC Central Committee. General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed when presiding over the meeting that the overall design of the power market should be optimized in accordance with the operation rules of the power market and the rules of the market economy, so as to realize the sharing and mutual benefit and optimal allocation of power resources in a larger scope of the country. We will accelerate the formation of a unified and open power market system with orderly competition, safety, efficiency and sound governance. The issuance of the Opinions is of far-reaching significance for comprehensively promoting the marketization of power planning mechanism, clarifying the thoughts of market construction, eliminating the vague understanding of market construction, and connecting market mechanism with government functions.
First, the opinions have answered the fundamental question of what is the market construction of electric power market system. Power market is a complex system mechanism, each link interact with each other, cooperate with each other to complete the function of optimal allocation of resources. The Opinions completely elaborated the electric power market system by the electric power spot market, medium and long-term trading and auxiliary services as the basic links, ended the long-term debate on the basic concept of what the electric power market system is, and contributed to the establishment of modern electric power market system in accordance with the requirements of the new electric power system.
Second, the Opinions answer the key question of what is the path of building a national market system. For a long time, there are disputes about the construction sequence of provincial market, regional market and national market. The Opinions gave an answer to the construction path of the national market system. In the first stage, markets at all levels are not at all levels, and the division of labor is different. The "flat" level allocation focuses on the division of labor and coordination among various markets. In the second stage, after the normal operation of markets at all levels, electricity and quantity coupling will be gradually carried out.
Third, the Opinions answered the controversial question of when to push both sides to enter the market. China's power market construction is a progressive reform. The power generation side starts from thermal power, and the user side starts from large industrial users. The market subjects gradually expand their scope, forming two situations of the same type of subjects: market subjects and non-market subjects. "Opinion" orderly push through all industrial and commercial users and all type power supply into the market, together with the recent agent purchasing system establish safeguard residents, agriculture and public welfare undertakings needed to stabilize the price policy cross subsidy mechanism of single row, different treatment only answered the same subject for the unified national electric power market system construction of transition mechanism, will end as soon as possible.
The fourth is to answer what is the expansion of the relationship between power planning and market construction. China's traditional planning mechanism includes three basic systems of planning, operation and price: the government examines and approves investment, allocates production plans and verifies product prices. When the production plan is determined by the electricity market and the price is determined by the game between supply and demand, it is difficult to continue the mechanism of both management (investment approval) and management (production plan and price). Planning must redefine the relationship with the market, especially to achieve the task of emergency protection and supply at the planning level. The Opinions pointed out that the connection between power planning and market construction should be strengthened, the power planning system adapted to the market environment should be improved, and the guiding role of market price signals should be given play to power planning and construction.
To sum up, the Opinions are the "key" to open the door of China's comprehensive promotion of the planning mechanism to market, and electricity sales companies, new power system technology and other enterprise providers face a broad "blue sea". Of course, the national unified power market system still needs hard implementation work, but in any case the most critical step has been taken, "Opinions" will promote the construction of market mechanism, for China's power industry to bring new jobs, new power generation technology, new business format.
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