Source: International Energy Network
This year, words such as “power rationing” and “peak-shifting power consumption” have become hot words on the Internet. Since late September, more than ten provinces including Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, Zhejiang, Anhui, Yunnan and the three northeastern provinces have reported power and production restrictions.
In addition, in May, units in Guangzhou, Foshan, Dongguan, Huizhou, Zhuhai, Zhongshan, Chaozhou and other places in Guangdong were required to use electricity in off-peak periods. It can be seen that during the peak period of electricity consumption in summer, Guangdong consumes a lot of electricity, and some companies are even required to use electricity during off-peak periods.
Industry insiders believe that if you want to regulate electricity consumption and encourage enterprises and individuals to use electricity at off-peak hours, it is better to use price adjustment methods.
01. The difference between peak and valley electricity prices has further widened.
On July 29, the National Development and Reform Commission issued a notice on further improving the time-of-use electricity price mechanism, requiring all localities to implement a peak electricity price mechanism on the basis of peak and valley electricity prices based on actual conditions. In principle, the floating rate of electricity prices during peak periods should not be less than 20%.
After the national policy was released, 22 places including Shaanxi, Guizhou, and Sichuan successively released new time-of-use electricity price policies.
Reporters from the International Energy Network found that since mid-October, Shaanxi, Jiangsu, Hunan, Qinghai and other provinces have introduced policies to adjust the time-of-use electricity price mechanism, and the peak electricity price has fluctuated by 20%.
Liaoning, which restricted electricity consumption in September, expanded the floating rate to 25%. On October 27, the Liaoning Provincial Development and Reform Commission issued a notice on the implementation of the temporary peak electricity price policy. For all users who implement the peak and valley electricity price policy, it is proposed to set 17:00 to 19:00 as the peak hour and implement the peak electricity price. The electricity price standard shall be based on the peak hour. The electricity price will be raised by 25%.
In addition, eight provinces including Beijing, Shanxi, and Jilin have not clarified the new peak-to-valley electricity price difference.
02. What is the time-of-use electricity price mechanism
So, what exactly is the time-of-use electricity price mechanism?
The time-of-use electricity price mechanism is designed based on the time value of electric energy. It is to guide power users to cut peaks and fill valleys, and to ensure the safe and stable economic operation of the power system. An important mechanism arrangement. The time-of-use electricity price mechanism can be further divided into peak and valley electricity price mechanisms, seasonal electricity price mechanisms, etc. The peak and valley electricity price mechanism divides the day into peaks, flat periods, and troughs. The seasonal electricity price mechanism divides the peak and valley periods into differentiated arrangements for summer and non-summer periods, and sets different electricity price levels for each period to ensure that the peak and valley periods are divided into different periods. The electricity price level during the period is closer to the power supply cost of the power system to give full play to the role of electricity price signals and guide power users to use less electricity during peak hours and more electricity during valley hours, thereby ensuring the safe and stable operation of the power system, improving the overall utilization efficiency of the system, and reducing The overall electricity cost of society.
Since the early 1980s, my country has gradually implemented a time-of-use electricity pricing mechanism in various places. Up to now, 29 provinces have implemented the time-of-use electricity price mechanism, and the specific implementation of the time-of-use electricity price mechanism varies across regions. For example, various places generally divide peak, flat and valley periods on a daily basis, and implement peak and valley time-of-use electricity prices. On this basis, some provinces have added peak periods; Sichuan and other places divide wet periods and dry periods on a monthly basis, and deal with dry periods when power supply is tight. Further implement electricity prices during peak and dry seasons; Shanghai and other places divide summer and non-summer by season, and implement higher seasonal electricity prices during the peak period of midsummer electricity consumption. Overall, the implementation of the time-of-use electricity price mechanism in various regions has effectively promoted the demand side shift peak and valley filling, and played an important role in alleviating the contradiction between power supply and demand, ensuring the safe supply of power, and improving the economics of the power system.
At present, the scale of my country's new energy installed capacity continues to expand, the power consumption structure is accelerating changes, the electricity load shows the characteristics of "double peaks" in winter and summer, and the power production side and the consumption side fluctuate significantly in both directions, ensuring the safe and economic operation of power faces greater challenges, and further There are urgent requirements to improve the time-of-use electricity price mechanism.The current time-of-use electricity price mechanism has been implemented in various places for many years. After the situation has changed significantly, there are still some problems such as inaccurate time division, peak and valley electricity price differences, still widening room, peak electricity price mechanism has not been fully established, and the lack of dynamic adjustment mechanism of time-of-use electricity price, which is closely related to electricity. Problems such as insufficient connection between market construction and development need to be further improved to adapt to changes in the situation.
03. The time-of-use electricity price mechanism is of great significance
The person in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission said that further improving the time-of-use electricity price mechanism has positive significance for ensuring the safety and stable economic operation of electricity in the short term, and for achieving the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality in the medium and long term.
In recent years, my country's energy consumption structure has changed rapidly, and the electricity load has become more sensitive to temperature changes. The peak characteristics of the power system load in summer and winter have become increasingly prominent. According to statistics, the annual cumulative time of the hottest period in summer and coldest period in winter is generally less than 60 hours in various places. However, the corresponding peak power demand can be more than 100 million kilowatts higher than usual, which faces greater challenges in ensuring the safe and stable operation of the power system. , since last year, some places have had to implement orderly electricity use. Further improving the time-of-use electricity price mechanism, especially optimizing the peak and valley electricity price mechanism and introducing a peak electricity price mechanism, will help give full play to the role of electricity price signals, guide users to use electricity off-peak, start orderly electricity use as little as possible, and ensure the safety and stability of the power system. operation and reduce economic and social operating costs.
In addition, further improving time-of-use electricity prices, especially reasonably widening the peak-valley electricity price difference, will help guide users to use more electricity during the low periods of the power system, and create more space for the development of pumped hydro and new energy storage. This will It is of positive significance to promote the accelerated development and effective consumption of new energy sources such as wind power and photovoltaic power generation, and to achieve the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality in the medium and long term.
Material source: National Development and Reform Commission, Feifan Youtiao, etc.
