On November 29, under the overall organization of the National Energy Administration, the China Electricity Council (hereinafter referred to as "CEC") jointly released the "Blue Book on the Development Plan of the National Unified Electricity Market" (hereinafter referred to as the "Blue Book") in collaboration with multiple institutions. It clearly defines for the first time the "roadmap" and "timetable" for the development of the national unified electricity market, namely initial completion by 2025, full completion by 2029, and improvement and upgrading by 2035.
According to the plan, by 2025, a preliminary national unified electricity market will be built, with the top-level design of the electricity market basically improved, and the basic unification of national basic transaction rules and technical standards will be realized. By 2029, a comprehensive national unified electricity market will be established, promoting the unification of basic market systems and rules, fair and unified market supervision, and high-standard connectivity of market facilities.
The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee proposed to "deepen the reform of the energy management system and build a national unified electricity market". Song Hongkun, member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of the National Energy Administration, pointed out that at present, the construction of the national unified electricity market has achieved remarkable results, the market rule system has been gradually established, the multi-level market framework has basically taken shape, the scale of market transactions has increased significantly, and the role of market mechanisms has been effectively played.
Data shows that in 2023, the national market transaction electricity volume was 5.67 trillion kWh, accounting for 61.4% of the total social electricity consumption. The market scale has increased nearly five times since 2016. The cross-provincial and inter-regional market-oriented transaction electricity volume nationwide is close to 1.2 trillion kWh, and the role of the market in promoting the optimal allocation of electric power resources on a larger scale is constantly increasing. The total number of registered business entities in the national electricity market reached 743,000, a year-on-year increase of 23.9%, and the activity of the electricity market was further improved.
The pace of new energy entering the market has also further accelerated. In 2023, the national new energy market-oriented transaction electricity volume reached 684.5 billion kWh, accounting for 47.3% of the total new energy power generation. The proportion of new energy participating in the market among some large power generation enterprises has exceeded 50%. The scale of green power and green certificate transactions has been continuously expanding. In the first half of 2024, the national green power transaction electricity volume reached 151.93 billion kWh, a year-on-year increase of 233%, and 160 million green certificates were traded.
"With the rapid increase in the proportion of new energy installed capacity, coupled with the impact of multiple factors such as fluctuations in primary energy prices, growth in electricity load, and extreme climate changes, the operation of China's power system and electricity market is undergoing profound changes, putting forward higher requirements for the reform of the power system, and there is an urgent need to strengthen top-level design," Yang Kun, Secretary of the Party Committee and Executive Vice Chairman of the China Electricity Council, pointed out. The "Blue Book" focuses on key issues in the electricity market, studies and puts forward market development planning ideas and construction goals suitable for China's national conditions and the objective requirements of market construction, marking that the construction of the national unified electricity market has entered a new stage of accelerated advancement.
Huang Xuenong, Chief Supervisor of the National Energy Administration, pointed out when releasing the "Blue Book" that the construction of a unified electricity market should adhere to the basic principles of safety and reliability, market orientation, integrity and innovation, and system coordination. In accordance with the goals of the three development stages, it should be promoted step by step and in phases. In the near and medium term, it is necessary to complete 8 key tasks, including building a multi-level unified electricity market structure, a market system with complete functions and a full range of varieties, a market mechanism adapted to green and low-carbon transformation, a market mechanism with system safety, adequacy, flexibility and interaction, and a unified, open, fair and orderly market operation mechanism.
Among them, in terms of building a market system with complete functions and a full range of varieties, promote the spot market to enter formal operation in accordance with procedures, and by 2029, the electricity spot markets in most provinces across the country will be in formal operation. Promote the formal operation of the southern regional electricity market by 2029. In terms of building a market mechanism adapted to green and low-carbon transformation, by 2025, the proportion of new energy market-oriented consumption will exceed 50%; by 2029, new energy will be fully involved in the market. In terms of building a market mechanism with system safety, adequacy, flexibility and interaction, by 2025, the demand response capacity of each province will reach 3% to 5% of the maximum electricity load, among which provinces with an annual maximum electricity load peak-valley difference rate exceeding 40% will reach 5% or more. (Reporter Wang Lu)
Source: Xinhua News Agency Client
