Economic Observer Network reporter Gao Ge On February 24, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the Notice of the National Development and Reform Commission on Further Improving the Coal Market Price Formation Mechanism (hereinafter referred to as the “Notice”), specifying the “reasonable range” of coal prices and within the “reasonable range”. Coal and electricity prices can be effectively transmitted.
According to the “Notice”, “this regulation is in line with the current economic development situation, and the upstream and downstream can achieve better coordinated development”. ).
This range is lower than the floating range of 550 yuan / ton – 850 yuan / ton stipulated in the “2022 Coal Medium and Long-term Contract Signing and Performance Work Plan (Draft for Comment)” drafted by the Economic Operation Bureau of the National Development and Reform Commission in December 2021. In 2017, the long-term coal contract system and the base price + floating price pricing mechanism were established. The benchmark price from 2017 to 2021 was 535 yuan/ton, and the above reasonable range was slightly higher than this.
In the view of Jiao Jingping, technical director of Beijing Nengyan Management Consulting Co., Ltd., this range is more reasonable. This adjustment fully takes into account factors such as global economic recovery and intensified geopolitical conflicts in the post-epidemic period, which have led to the general increase in commodity prices; It is difficult to supervise the market coal price. In the past year, the market coal price was much higher than that of the China Long-term Association, which affected the incremental signing and contract performance of the medium and long-term contract supply main contracts to a certain extent. Reasonably moving up is conducive to mobilizing the enthusiasm of the signatories of medium and long-term contracts and improving the security of coal supply.
The floating range of electricity prices has been expanded. On October 12, 2021, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the “Notice on Further Deepening the Market-Based Reform of Coal-fired Power Generation On-Grid Tariffs” to expand the range of coal-fired power generation market transaction price fluctuations to within 20% in principle, and high energy consumption. Enterprise market transaction electricity prices are not subject to the 20% increase. Jiao Jingping believes that the expansion of the floating range of electricity prices will weaken the impact of moderately adjusting the price of the China-long-term association on the downstream enterprises of electricity, and is also conducive to the sustainable development of coal and coal-fired power upstream and downstream.
Taking into account factors such as reasonable circulation costs and production costs, the “Notice” correspondingly clarifies the reasonable range of medium and long-term transaction prices for coal mining in key coal-transferring areas (Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Mongolian provinces).
Jiao Jingping told the Economic Observer.com reporter: “The original focus of the long-term association was on the port, but now it has increased the regulation of the price range of the production area, especially the main production areas of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Mongolia. The problem that existed before was that although the cost from the pit to the port Relatively transparent, but the price difference between the port and the pit fluctuated widely last year. For example, when the pit mouth was 1,600 yuan/ton last year, the highest price of the Bohai Rim port reached 2,300 yuan/ton, and the price difference of 700 yuan/ton was much higher than that of actual transportation. The purpose of the above regulations is to suppress the phenomenon of unreasonable price differences and regulate the intermediate links.”
According to the reporter of Economic Observer.com, some pit-mouth coal mines have also stated that the reasons for the high prices are: the coal mines where they are located are relatively special, there are no transportation railway channels around, and sales are carried out by automobiles, and retail investors conduct online auctions through the local coal trading center; Basically, they are all land sales, and there is no railway. In order to avoid risks, they are all open auction prices.
In terms of improving the transmission mechanism of coal and electricity prices, the “Notice” proposes that “guide coal and electricity prices are mainly formed through medium and long-term transactions. Through market-oriented methods, changes in fuel costs are fully transmitted, and the medium and long-term electricity transaction contracts are encouraged to reasonably set up clauses linking the on-grid electricity price with the mid- and long-term transaction price of coal, so as to effectively realize the transmission of coal and electricity prices.”
Jiao Jingping believes that this will help correct the current situation of some price signal failures. From the perspective of price transmission, the rise and fall of coal prices can be transmitted to the electricity price, but the current situation is that the price is abnormally high when the supply and demand are not too imbalanced. The price is adjusted to a reasonable range as much as possible through policies, and the market price can be guided through the signals of supply and demand within this range.
At a press conference held by the National Development and Reform Commission on the same day, Wan Jinsong, director of the Price Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that the further improvement of the coal market price formation mechanism this time “is neither a return to government pricing nor laissez-faire.” That is to say, when the coal price is within the “reasonable range”, the market mechanism should be brought into full play, and market participants should be free to trade independently to form prices. , and immediately take regulatory measures to promote the return of coal prices to a reasonable range.
In order to keep the coal price within the above-mentioned “reasonable range”, the “Notice” proposes to improve the ability to adjust supply and demand. Ensure a reasonable and sufficient coal production capacity, improve the coal medium and long-term contract system, further enhance the government’s dispatchable coal storage capacity, and improve the reserve adjustment mechanism; strengthen the management of market expectations. Improve the cost investigation and price monitoring system, standardize the compilation and release of coal price index. When the coal price exceeds a reasonable range, the means and measures stipulated in the “Price Law” and other laws and regulations shall be fully used to guide the coal price to return; and market supervision shall be strengthened. It is strictly forbidden to improperly intervene in the prices of coal and electricity operating within a reasonable range, strengthen the supervision of the performance of medium and long-term contracts for coal and electricity, strengthen the joint supervision and anti-monopoly supervision of the futures and spot markets, and promptly investigate and deal with price violations.Return to Sohu, see more
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