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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 pilot plans for transmission and distribution price reform in some places, including Shenzhen and Ningxia, were successively announced in the new round of electricity reform, the industry is still paying attention to the extent to which the detailed rules supporting the 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. Therefore, grid enterprises have no conflict of interest with generation and sales enterprises. They will maintain a neutral position in direct transactions between generation enterprises and power users. On the 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, under the condition that transmission and distribution are not separated in the power industry, further clarify transmission and distribution costs and strengthen supervision of the "middle." For grid enterprises, the biggest change is to shift from the previous model of unified purchase and sales, earning price differences, to obtaining income by charging network usage fees.

In the "No. 9 Document," it is clearly stated that "controlling the middle, liberalizing both ends" is the institutional framework of electricity reform, and further proposes to orderly liberalize some electricity links, "orderly liberalize competitive links other than transmission and distribution, open distribution and sales businesses 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 electricity reform will implement the "No. 9 Document."

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