State Grid Realizes Spot Trade of Surplus Renewables Among all Provinces

On July 23, through the trans-regional and inter-provincial spot trade platform for surplus renewable power run by National Power Dispatching & Control Center, Tibetan hydropower enterprises made their first spot transactions with State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Company, day-ahead trading capacity and volume reaching 5 MW and 10 MWh respectively. Thus far, all of State Grid’s provincial companies are included in the inter-provincial spot trade of renewable electricity, which is another important step towards a unified national market.

Laohuzui Hydropower Station in Nyingtri Prefecture, Tibet

The Central government attaches great importance to the development of Tibet. In recent years, hydropower and other renewable energy development in Tibet has gained momentum, resulting in urgent needs for outbound transmission. To carry out the strategic decisions of the Party Central Committee to ensure stability in Tibet, and the national strategy to promote the development of clean energy, State Grid has taken various measures to boost outward delivery of electricity in Tibet and helped translate local resources into economic advantages. Inter-provincial spot trade of electricity proves another effective means to consume surplus hydropower in the region.

To realized such spot trade, the National Power Dispatching & Control Center selected experts and established manpower to offer support. They worked with the Department of Finance & Asset and State Grid Beijing Electric Power Company to tackle key problems in the deployment of terminals to achieve a unified automation system, and carry out online training in face of the COVID-19. During the trading, State Grid Tibet Electric Power Company had made every effort to ensure the stable operation of power grid, markets, enterprises, and information system. Looking ahead, State Grid will focus on photovoltaic consumption to help Tibet’s surplus renewable energy compete in the national electricity market.

The electricity spot market constitutes an important part in building the modern electricity market system. In recent years, State Grid has implemented the decisions of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on electricity system reform, and accelerated the construction of a unified national electricity market to stimulate market vitality and deliver benefits of reform.

The company has actively explored the consumption of renewable energy in a market-oriented way and developed plans and regulations to establish inter-provincial spot market for surplus renewable energy. With the approval of the National Energy Administration, a trial for inter-provincial spot trade of surplus renewables was launched on August 18, 2017. To date, the trial has been running for more than 1,050 days, and more than 1,700 renewable generation enterprises from 14 provinces have been attracted, with a cumulative trading volume of 18.668 TWh. The active spot market and the safe and stable operation of grids have effectively improved the allocation of renewable energy nationwide, and contributed to China’s low-carbon transformation and the building of a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system.