Recently, the State Development and Reform Commission and the State Energy Administration jointly issued the Notice on the Establishment of Coal-Electricity Capacity Tariff Mechanism, which decided to establish the Coal-Electricity Capacity Tariff Mechanism from January 1, 2024. Why should we establish a coal-fired power capacity price mechanism? What are the main contents of the coal-fired power capacity price mechanism? What will be the impact on the cost of electricity to end users? The responsible comrades of the National Development and Reform Commission were interviewed by reporters.
In order to implement the decision-making and deployment of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on speeding up the construction of a new power system, the State Development and Reform Commission and the State Energy Administration recently jointly issued the Notice on the Establishment of a Coal-Power Capacity Tariff Mechanism (hereinafter referred to as the Notice), and decided to establish a Coal-Power Capacity Tariff Mechanism from January 1, 2024. In this regard, the reporter interviewed the responsible comrades of the National Development and Reform Commission.
Question 1: Why should we establish a mechanism for the price of coal power capacity?
Answer: The operating cost of coal and electricity includes fixed costs such as depreciation cost, labor cost, repair cost and financial cost, and variable costs such as coal. At present, China implements a single system of electricity price for coal-fired power, that is, coal-fired power can only recover costs by generating electricity. Countries with mature electricity market usually adopt two-part electricity price system, that is, capacity price mainly recovers the fixed cost of generating units and energy price mainly recovers the variable cost. The establishment of coal-fired power capacity tariff mechanism and the implementation of two-part tariff policy for coal-fired power in China are not only the realistic needs of the rapid development of new energy in China in recent years, but also the inevitable requirements for the further acceleration of the development of new energy and the green and low-carbon transformation of energy.
On the one hand, with the rapid development of new energy in China in recent years, there is an urgent need for coal-fired power to play a better role in basic support and regulation. In 2022, the newly installed capacity of new energy in China will reach 120 million kilowatts and the newly generated electricity will be about 200 billion kilowatt-hours, accounting for about two-thirds of the total new energy in the country. According to the estimates of market institutions, the installed capacity of new energy in China will grow rapidly in the next few years. Because of the intermittence and volatility of new energy generation, more regulatory resources are objectively needed to provide more abundant regulatory capacity for the power system. Coal-fired power is the most important and low-cost supporting and regulating power source in China. It is of great significance to accelerate the transformation of coal-fired power to provide both capacity support and electricity, to make room for new energy power generation in ordinary times and to continue peak output in peak times, so as to further accelerate the development of new energy.
On the other hand, the current single electricity price mechanism can not fully reflect the support and regulation value of coal-fired power. Under the current single electricity price system, coal-fired power enterprises can only recover costs and get returns by generating electricity. With the change of operation and development mode of coal-fired power, coal-fired power units have more and more time to "prepare but not use", and it is difficult to fully recover the cost through a single electricity price. In recent years, the industry is expected to be unstable, which may affect the safe operation of the power system and lead to a decline in the utilization rate of new energy in the long run. Therefore, it is an inevitable requirement for ensuring the safe operation of the power system, providing strong support for carrying larger-scale new energy and better promoting the green and low-carbon transformation of energy to establish a coal-fired capacity tariff mechanism and recover part or all of the fixed costs through capacity tariff, so as to stabilize the expectations of the coal-fired power industry.
Question 2: What is the main content of the coal capacity pricing mechanism?
Answer: Adhering to the problem-oriented approach, the Notice innovatively proposes a package of policies and measures around the establishment of a coal-fired power capacity tariff mechanism. The main contents include "four clarifications":
First, clarify the scope of policy implementation. Coal-fired power capacity tariff mechanism is applicable to public coal-fired power units in operation in compliance with the regulations. Coal-fired self-owned power plants, coal-fired power units that do not conform to the national planning, and coal-fired power units that do not meet the requirements of the state for energy consumption, environmental protection and flexible regulation capacity shall not implement the capacity tariff mechanism.
The second is to clarify the level of capacity price. The coal-fired power capacity price is determined by recovering a certain proportion of the fixed cost of coal-fired power units. Considering the needs of power systems and the transformation of coal-fired power functions, from 2024 to 2025, the proportion of fixed costs recovered through capacity tariff in most places is about 30%, that is, 100 yuan per kilowatt per year, and some places with faster transformation of coal-fired power functions are appropriately higher; Since 2026, the proportion of fixed costs recovered through capacity tariff has been raised to no less than 50%, that is, 165 yuan per kilowatt per year.
The three is to clarify the capacity tariff sharing mechanism. The electricity charges of coal and electricity capacity are included in the operation cost of the system, which is shared by industrial and commercial users according to the proportion of electricity consumption in the current month.
Fourthly, the assessment mechanism of capacity tariff should be clarified. If the coal-fired power unit fails to provide the declared maximum output according to the dispatching instructions, the capacity electricity charge shall be deducted according to the number of occurrences; if the output fails to meet the standard and the capacity electricity charge is deducted for many times, the qualification for obtaining the capacity electricity charge shall be cancelled.
Question 3: Why should the calculation base of capacity price be unified throughout the country, but the specific level of capacity price is determined by classification and classification?
Answer: On the one hand, as the calculation base of capacity price, the fixed cost of coal-fired power units mainly includes depreciation cost, financial cost, labor cost, repair cost, etc. The regional difference is generally small, and the difference between different types of units is also limited, which has the basis of implementing a unified national standard. According to the national average, it is clearly defined as 330 yuan per kilowatt per year, which better coordinates the operability and actual situation.
On the other hand, the demand for supporting and regulating capacity of power systems in different regions is different, and the progress of coal-fired power function transformation is also quite different. In some places, hydropower, new energy and other renewable energy account for a large proportion, and coal-fired power has mainly played a supporting and regulating role; in some places, coal-fired power is still the main power source, and it is the "pillar" in providing electricity and electricity. Therefore, when determining the proportion of fixed cost recovery of capacity electricity price, the places where the transformation of coal-fired power is slower and the utilization hours of units are higher should be arranged lower, and the places where the transformation of coal-fired power is faster and the utilization hours of units are lower should be arranged appropriately higher, which is in line with the actual situation of each place and is conducive to accelerating the functional transformation of coal-fired power.
It should be noted that the establishment of the capacity tariff mechanism has adopted a clear expectation and gradual improvement approach, which not only releases clear and clear signals, stabilizes the expectations of the coal and electricity industry, and provides enterprises with "reassurance pills", but also helps to build consensus among all parties and ensure the smooth implementation of the mechanism.
Question 4: What will be the impact of the establishment of coal-fired capacity pricing mechanism on the cost of electricity for end users?
Answer: The establishment of coal power capacity tariff mechanism, while stabilizing the expectations of the coal power industry, ensuring the safe operation of the power system and accelerating the development of new energy, has a positive impact on the cost of electricity for end users, both in the short and long term.
In the short term, the impact on the electricity cost of end users is generally small. As the establishment of the coal-fired power capacity tariff mechanism is mainly the adjustment of the tariff structure, the overall price level of coal-fired power is basically stable, especially the slight decrease in the electricity price, which will drive the electricity price of hydropower, nuclear power, new energy and other power sources participating in market transactions to decline, and the overall cost of electricity consumption of industrial and commercial users is expected to be stable and slightly reduced. At the same time, the policy does not involve residential and agricultural users, who still implement the current catalogue sales price policy.
In the long run, the establishment of coal-fired power capacity tariff mechanism and the first realization of the distinction between the value of electric energy and the value of capacity of coal-fired power, which is the main power source, can effectively promote the construction of a multi-level power market system, guide market participants such as coal-fired power and new energy to show their strengths, do their best and compete fully, and optimize power resources in an all-round way. Improving the economy of the entire power system is also beneficial to reducing the cost of electricity for end users.
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