On September 7, the National Development and Reform Commission website announced that the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration formally approved the "Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Electric Power System Reform Pilot Program" (hereinafter referred to as the "Program") and agreed to launch a comprehensive pilot program for power system reform in Xinjiang.

The reporter learned from the Development and Reform Commission of the Autonomous Region and the State Grid Xinjiang Electric Power Company that Xinjiang will develop electricity in accordance with the requirements of the "Plan" and in accordance with the principles of market allocation, government regulation, safety and reliability, efficiency improvement, market competition, protection of people’s livelihood, energy conservation, and emission reduction. Comprehensive pilot system reform.

According to the "Plan", the main contents of Xinjiang's power system reform include: completing the design of the power market framework; completing the approval of power transmission and distribution prices, and basically realizing that the price of electricity sold outside of public welfare is formed by the market, forming a power market-oriented pricing mechanism; completing the establishment of relatively independent trading institutions And the construction and operation of the trading platform, clarify the market access standards and trading rules; improve the direct electricity trading mechanism, and fully liberalize the direct trading of electricity in the industrial and commercial fields; carry out pilot projects to liberalize the electricity sales business, and form a diversified and adequate main body on the power generation side and the power sales side A competitive market pattern; the share of direct market-oriented power transactions across provinces and regions will be further expanded, forming a modern power market with efficient operation and national competitiveness.

In the reply letter, three principles are required for the pilot work: one is to adhere to the principle of market pricing, and administrative orders and other measures that violate the direction of reform shall not be adopted to artificially reduce electricity prices; the second is to adhere to the principle of equal competition and move towards a qualified market. The entities shall equally open the electricity sales business and the incremental power distribution business, and shall not determine the electricity sales and investment entities by administrative designation; the third is to adhere to the principle of energy conservation and emission reduction, and the enterprises that should implement differential electricity prices and punitive electricity prices as required shall not Take the opportunity to provide preferential electricity prices and electricity subsidies.

The reform of the electric power system is a systematic project, which is the readjustment of the interest structure. The "Plan" requires that electric power reform be advanced in an orderly, effective and stable manner on the basis of consensus of all parties. Gradually expand the scope of pilot reforms of transmission and distribution prices. Major reforms such as the reform of the electricity sales side and the establishment of relatively independent power trading institutions should be carried out first, and then comprehensively promoted on the basis of summing up the experience of the pilot.

It is understood that since the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan", Xinjiang's power industry has achieved rapid development. In 2015, the installed capacity of connected power generation in Xinjiang reached 66.08 million kilowatts, of which the installed capacity of renewable energy power generation increased rapidly, accounting for 42.3% of the total installed capacity. The construction of the power grid has been accelerated in an all-round way, forming a 750kV main grid structure with east to Hami, west to Ili, and south to Kashgar, and two 750kV channels connected to the northwest. The Hami South-Zhengzhou ±800 kV UHV DC transmission project was completed, and the Zhundong-East China (South Anhui) ±1100 kV UHV DC transmission project was started.

According to industry insiders, Xinjiang’s diversified electricity market system has initially taken shape, the electricity price formation mechanism has been gradually improved, and electricity market-oriented transactions and supervision have continued to advance. However, the development of the electricity industry is still faced with the lack of transaction mechanisms and low resource utilization efficiency; the price relationship has not been straightened out and the market The pricing mechanism has not been fully formed; the peak shaving capacity of the self-provided power plant system is insufficient; renewable energy is facing problems such as difficulty in absorption.

Four highlights of Xinjiang's power reform program

●The "Plan" for the establishment of a joint-stock power trading center clearly defines the establishment of a joint-stock Xinjiang power trading center, a shareholding reform of the existing trading center, and separates the trading business originally undertaken by the power grid company from other businesses, clarifies the work interface and workflow, and establishes openness and transparency , A fully functional power trading platform.

●Establish and improve the power market transaction mechanism, improve the direct electricity transaction rules, the generation rights substitution transaction rules, the implementation rules for the grid-connected operation management of power plants, the implementation rules for the management of auxiliary services for grid-connected power plants, and the implementation rules for the participation of self-provided power plants in grid peak shaving, etc., Establish a regionally unified power transaction mechanism in Xinjiang with the participation of various market entities (including electricity sales companies); explore the establishment and development of cross-provincial and cross-regional direct power trading pilots, cross-provincial and cross-regional power generation rights substitution trading pilots, peak shaving and other auxiliary service compensation markets Mechanism, renewable energy participation in market competition mechanism, etc. At the same time, the power market construction plan was introduced, and market transaction supervision measures were formulated.

●Opening of electricity sales business to social capital Develop a pilot plan for reforming the electricity sales side of Xinjiang, actively cultivate diversified market competition entities, open up the electricity sales business to social capital, improve the quality of electricity sales service and user energy level, and form an effective market Competition structure and market system.

●Improve new energy consumption and clean energy utilization rate. Under the premise of ensuring the safety and stability of the power grid and the people's livelihood, renewable energy power generation shall be arranged in full, with priority reserved for hydropower, wind power, photovoltaic power generation and other renewable energy units, combined heat and power, and waste heat. Resources such as compressed gas power generation, gas and coal-bed methane (gas) power generation comprehensively utilize the power generation space of units, and encourage renewable energy and resource comprehensive utilization power generation projects to give priority to direct transactions with users.

Background link

Memorabilia of power system reform

●In March 2015, the "Several Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Further Deepening the Reform of the Electric Power System" (No. 9 for short) was released, kicking off a new round of power system reform. This round of reforms involves electricity price reform, grid independence, and market liberalization.

●In March 2015, the first supporting document "Guiding Opinions on Improving Electric Power Operation, Regulation and Promoting the Proliferation of Clean Energy", which was implemented at the same time as Circular 9, was released, and the first part of the reform package was in the field of clean energy.

●In April 2015, the second supporting document "Notice on Improving Power Emergency Mechanism and Doing a Comprehensive Pilot Work for Power Demand Side Management in Cities" was released.

●On April 13, 2015, the third supporting document "Notice on Implementing the Spirit of Zhongfa [2015] No. 9 Document and Accelerating the Reform of Transmission and Distribution Prices" was issued, proposing to initiate the reform of transmission and distribution prices in the state grid business area.

●On May 5, 2015, the fourth supporting document "Notice on Issues Concerning Improving the Price Formation Mechanism for Trans-provincial and Trans-regional Electric Energy Transaction" was issued, proposing that the local government has absolute control over the power transmission and distribution price ≤220kv, and special projects above 500kv The distribution price is taken over by the central government.

●In March 2016, the provincial power trading centers were listed one after another. my country's power industry has opened up competitive links and realized market-oriented transactions and entered the full implementation stage.

● On September 6th and 7th, 2016, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration successively approved and announced the pilot schemes for electricity reform and retail side reform in 13 provinces, municipalities, and districts.

Original title: Xinjiang will set up a joint-stock power trading center