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High-Voltage Test Transformer — Top-Level Design of State-Owned Enterprise Reform Released, New Electricity Reform Clarifies 'Separation of Transmission and Distribution'

Is the positioning of the power grid focused on public utilities?

After the release of pilot plans for transmission and distribution price reform in some places, including Shenzhen and Ningxia, the industry is still paying attention to the extent to which the detailed rules supporting the electricity reform will implement the electricity reform document (Central Document "No. 9").

When the state approved the Shenzhen plan for the new transmission and distribution price reform, it stated: "Grid enterprises obtain income by charging network usage fees. The level of electricity generation and sales prices is unrelated to grid income, so grid enterprises have no conflict of interest with generation and sales companies. They will remain neutral in direct transactions between generation companies and power users. On one hand, this avoids interfering with the effective operation of the electricity market; on the other hand, it will focus more on the operation and development of their own transmission and distribution business."

That is, without separating transmission and distribution in the power industry, it further clarifies transmission and distribution costs and strengthens supervision of the "middle." For grid enterprises, the biggest change is shifting from the previous model of unified purchase and sales with price differences to earning income through network usage fees.

In the "No. 9 Document," it is clear that "controlling the middle, liberalizing both ends" is the institutional framework of the electricity reform, and further proposes to orderly liberalize certain electricity links: "Orderly liberalize competitive links other than transmission and distribution, open distribution and retail electricity business to social capital in an orderly manner, and orderly liberalize power generation and consumption plans other than public welfare and regulatory ones."

At the same time, it also proposes "promoting the relative independence of trading institutions and strengthening government supervision." Since then, this year, the industry has been paying attention to how the supporting documents for the electricity reform will implement the "No. 9 Document."

The implementation rules are also called supporting documents for the electricity reform, generally considered to include six major aspects: transmission and distribution price reform, electricity market construction, trading institution components, liberalizing electricity consumption plans, retail side reform, and supervision of self-owned power plants. A researcher involved in the supporting documents told a reporter from "Finance Daily" that at the detailed level, there is intense competition among grid companies, power generation companies, and local governments. For example, after the opening of retail electricity, what the threshold should be, and whether and how grid companies can participate in retail electricity are not uniformly agreed upon.