Original title: Can fall can rise, coal power market reform solves the problem of supply and demand
The “coal-power” contradiction and power plants are under pressure. my country’s power system reform is gradually exploring solutions to these problems. On October 12, the “Notice on Further Deepening the Market-oriented Reform of Coal-fired Power Generation Feed-in Tariffs” (hereinafter referred to as the “Notice”) issued by the National Development and Reform Commission took another important step. The “Notice” requires the orderly liberalization of on-grid electricity prices for all coal-fired power generation, expand the range of fluctuations in market transaction electricity prices, encourage industrial and commercial users to enter the market, and maintain stable electricity prices for residents, agriculture, and public welfare undertakings. At the press conference held on the same day, the relevant person in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission stated that the core of this reform is to truly establish a market-based electricity price mechanism that “can fall but rise” to ensure the safe and stable supply of electricity. The reform’s impact on price levels is limited. of.
Straighten out the “coal-electricity” relationship
From government-guided pricing to market allocation of resources, my country’s electricity market reform has been steadily ill-fated. At the press conference that day, Wan Jinsong, Director of the Price Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, introduced that at present, about 70% of coal-fired power generation in my country has formed an on-grid tariff through participation in the power market. This reform clearly promotes the remaining 30% of coal-fired power generation to enter the power market, which will further drive other types of power generation power to enter the market and lay a solid foundation for the full development of power-side feed-in tariffs.
After stopping thermal coal to guide pricing, in 2004, the National Development and Reform Commission first proposed a coal-fired power price linkage mechanism. 70% of the increase in coal prices affected the distribution of electricity prices to the terminal, and the remaining 30% was absorbed by the power companies themselves. In 2013, my country cancelled the dual-track system of key thermal coal contracts and thermal coal prices, and in 2015 clarified the specific methods of coal-power linkage and improved the price linkage mechanism.
Since then, the promotion of the market-oriented reform of coal-fired power generation feed-in tariffs has become an important breakthrough to alleviate the “coal-power” contradiction. In 2015, “Several Opinions on Further Deepening the Reform of the Electricity System” was issued, and the market-oriented reform of the electricity market was fully rolled out. In 2019, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the “Guiding Opinions on Deepening the Reform of the Coal-fired Power Generation On-grid Tariff Formation Mechanism”, which changed the coal-fired power generation benchmark on-grid tariff mechanism that has been implemented for many years to a “base price + floating” market-based electricity pricing mechanism. Coal-fired power generation in various places participates in electricity market transactions, and prices are determined by the market.
Zhang Chao, director of the Electricity Price Office of the Financial Review Institute of State Grid Energy Research Institute, said in an interview with a reporter from Beijing Business Daily, “The previous coal-electricity linkage policy directly corresponds to how the electricity price rises according to the gradient of coal price changes. Each adjustment is made by Government dominance is a means of government intervention or government adjustment. The marketization of coal-fired electricity prices is equivalent to giving all the power of adjustment to the market to determine prices. The coal-fired electricity supply and demand determine the price, which can more timely and accurately reflect the coal-fired electricity supply and demand. Situation and true cost”.
“In the past, coal power entered the market with a two-track system. Some coal power was included in the balance plate of excellent power generation and purchase as excellent power generation, and the other part entered the market. Now all coal power enters the market, which actually expands market transactions. Electricity plate. After this plate is expanded, the market will be able to exert the effect of resource allocation.” Zhang Chao said.
Wan Jinsong said that from the current point of view, the reform is conducive to further straightening out the “coal-electricity” relationship and ensuring the safe and stable supply of electricity; Promote other reforms of the power system, such as the reform of the electricity generation and consumption plan and the reform of the electricity sales side system, to play an important role.
Decompression of coal-fired power generation companies
In addition to the orderly liberalization of on-grid electricity prices for all coal-fired power generation, the “Notice” also requires that the range of fluctuations in market transaction electricity prices be expanded. Expanding the fluctuation range of coal-fired power generation market transaction prices from the current float of no more than 10%, and in principle no more than 15%, to a fluctuation of no more than 20% in principle. The market transaction price of high energy-consuming enterprises is not subject to a rise of 20%. limit.
Professor Niu Dongxiao of North China Electric Power University said in an interview with a reporter from Beijing Business Daily that the reform will help power generation companies adjust their prices flexibly in accordance with market mechanisms to the greatest extent, comprehensively calculate costs, reasonably price the Internet, maintain normal operations, and reduce operating pressure. Expanding the fluctuation range of market transaction electricity prices is conducive to respecting the laws of the market economy, flexibly responding to market changes, controlling operating income risks, and supporting power generation companies to maintain the safety and stability of power supply.
At present, the price of thermal coal has repeatedly hit new highs. Today, the transaction price of 5,000 kcal coal has more than tripled, causing huge pressure on thermal power operations.
The relevant person in charge of the South China Region of China Resources Power told a reporter from Beijing Business Daily, “In the first three quarters of this year, in the first three quarters of this year, China Resources Power’s Guangdong regional thermal power companies still insisted on generating high-load power generation by generating units with a year-on-year growth in order to ensure power supply despite high coal prices. Nearly 30%, the loss is very serious. At the same time, in order to ensure the supply of electricity, thermal power companies are still choosing to increase coal inventories under high coal prices. The cash flow occupancy of power plants is more serious, and the security of the capital chain is becoming more and more difficult to guarantee. Nowadays, the policy of electricity prices’can fall and rise’ is definitely a major benefit for alleviating the operating pressure of coal-fired power generation companies.”
“Ensuring the people’s electricity demand is our top priority as a power generation company, but the long-term price inversion will cause a fatal blow to thermal power companies. If it can break the power market mechanism of unilateral price reductions for power plants over the years, it will be better to play The decisive role of the market in the allocation of resources is to better return to the attributes of power commodities, so that the reform of the power system and the construction of the power market can be deepened and promoted in a sustainable, healthy and stable manner.” The person in charge said.
Regarding the operating pressure of coal-fired power plants, Peng Shaozong, deputy director of the Price Department of the National Development and Reform Commission and a first-level inspector, said that after the recent significant increase in coal prices, the coal-fired power generation transaction price in some local power markets has risen, which is important for alleviating the operation of coal-fired power companies. Difficulties played a positive role. Expanding the fluctuation range of market transaction electricity prices is conducive to better giving play to the role of market mechanisms, allowing electricity prices to more flexibly reflect the power supply and demand situation and cost changes, and to a certain extent alleviate the operating difficulties of coal-fired power generation companies and encourage companies to increase power supply.
The price level has limited impact
On the power consumption side, the “Notice” also clarified that all localities must orderly promote all industrial and commercial users to enter the electricity market, purchase electricity at market prices, and cancel the sales price of industrial and commercial catalogs.
“Promoting industrial and commercial users to enter the market is actually to prevent some users from speculating in the past in choosing whether to enter the market. Industrial and commercial users can account for 80% of the electricity consumption. After all these users enter the market, it also increases the overall electricity consumption of the buyer. It is necessary to have a very fundamental role in reasonable pricing and improving the efficiency of market pricing mechanisms.” Zhang Chao said.
Will the market-oriented reform of electricity prices increase the electricity cost of industrial and commercial users? Peng Shaozong responded that in the case of tight electricity supply and demand, market transaction electricity prices may rise, which will push up the electricity cost of industrial and commercial enterprises to a certain extent. However, it needs to be divided into user categories. The market transaction price of high-energy-consuming enterprises is not subject to a 20% increase. Such an increase is unlimited, which means that companies with more electricity and high energy consumption will pay more.
At the same time, the “Notice” also encourages local governments to provide preferential treatment to small and micro enterprises and individual industrial and commercial households through the adoption of phased subsidies and other measures, and continue to implement a series of benefits that have been issued to support the development of private enterprises, financing for small, medium and micro enterprises, and investment in manufacturing. Corporate relief measures.
It is worth noting that electricity prices for residents and agriculture will remain stable. Peng Shaozong said that this reform, with special emphasis on maintaining the stability of residential and agricultural electricity prices, has no direct impact on the consumer price index (CPI). If the market transaction electricity price rises, it will push up the electricity cost of enterprises, especially upstream production enterprises, to a certain extent, and have a certain boosting effect on the industrial producer price index (PPI), but the reform measures will help improve the power supply and demand situation, and better Ensuring the power demand of enterprises, promoting stable production of enterprises, and increasing market supply are conducive to price stability on the whole. On the whole, the impact of this reform on price levels is limited.
Beijing Commercial Daily reporter Tao Feng Lu Yinling
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