Electricity companies don’t have the money to increase electricity prices

Electricity shortages have come and power generation groups, coal companies, the National Development and Reform Commission, the China Electricity Regulatory Commission, the State Grid, and even the SASAC have been criticized for exception. In a chaotic paradox, sudden and rapid expansion of the power shortage should allow us to What is reflected on the contrary seems ambiguous.

“In Hunan Province, where the power shortage is most severe, many power plants have to stop generating power because of loss or lack of coal. For the same reason, more and more power generation enterprises in Central China have been shut down.” On May 19, the power generation group took charge of People told reporters that the power companies are now in a difficult position. The power loss caused by the dual-track pricing system and the excessively rapid increase in energy consumption caused by the extensive high-energy-consumption economy have caused the contradictions of the nation's power shortage to become more prominent. Now it seems that the power industry is The problem is that no one is able to turn the tide. At most, it is a headache and the power reforms that have been calling for years have shown no signs of progress.

The power shortage of large-scale power companies is spreading from the local area to the whole country at the fastest speed. What's worse, in the face of power shortages, the power generation companies are not increasing the power generation of horses. Instead, they are generating large areas due to power generation losses and coal shortages. Stopped.

Since April, electricity shortages in Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, and Chongqing in the south of the country have been rapidly spreading due to the lack of hydroelectric power generation, the increase of thermal power, and the shortage of power coal, causing an anti-seasonal tension in the electricity situation.

According to the CEC, the power shortage provinces have developed into the central, western, and eastern regions, and most of them are hard and lack of power, that is, lack of installed capacity and poor transport of coal and electricity. According to the statistics of the reporters, the provinces that have suffered electricity shortages in the country currently cover more than a dozen regions such as Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, Guangdong and Sichuan.

Because Hunan has not adjusted its electricity prices, it has become the province with the most severe electricity shortages, and the electricity gap is nearly 1/3. A person in charge of the power generation group told reporters that the shortage of electricity in Hunan is the most serious and it is the most fierce. Because the on-grid electricity price has not been adjusted, resulting in a great deal of pressure on thermal power plants, coupled with the lack of coal, a large number of thermal power units have to stop.

At present, the entire Central China region faces the same problems as Hunan Province. Central China Power Grid Corporation, which covers six provinces and cities in Hubei, Hunan, Henan, Jiangxi, Sichuan and Chongqing, believes that “the current full-grid power supply and demand starts to show a turning point and is being transformed from seasonal and local power shortages to full-year, regional-wide power. During the summer peak season this year, the largest electricity load in the entire network was 128.83 million kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 15.9% and the maximum power shortage was 8.22 million kilowatts."

In areas of East China and South China where economic growth has accelerated, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong, and even Anhui have suffered from power shortages due to insufficient power generation due to excessive power demand growth. At present, Zhejiang, which has suffered the worst electricity shortage in seven years, has a power shortage of 2 million kilowatts, which is mainly due to the excessive growth in electricity demand, which highlights the lack of power generation.

At the same time, according to the reporter, Shanxi Province, Shaanxi Province, and Henan Province, which are coal-producing provinces, have also experienced power shortages and large-scale plant shutdowns. “This is mainly because the electricity prices in these provinces are too low and the power plants cannot afford the current high coal prices. Coal companies are also reluctant to supply coal to local power plants, leading to the coal-mining downtime in these large coal provinces.”

The conflicts of interests between local government and central enterprises In the view of power generation companies, the most direct way to solve the current power shortage is to increase the on-grid tariffs and ease the pressure on power plants to generate power losses, thereby encouraging power plants to start generating power and adding generator sets.

“But at present, it seems that every time the price of electricity is raised, it is very difficult. Why the price of oil rises once again rises and the price of electricity rises again and again, and the factors behind this are, apart from popular opposition and inflation risks, the NDRC does not dare to do, and many local governments oppose it. Voice and electricity price adjustments also hide the conflicts of interest between local governments and central enterprises.” An insider of the power generation group told reporters that because power generation companies are mostly affiliated with the five major power generation groups and are part of the state-owned enterprise mechanism, losses have little effect on local governments, but they are raised. Electricity prices will seriously affect the local economy, especially the development of the industrial economy.

"The development of China's GDP is still extensive. The economic development of each region mainly relies on high-energy-consuming industries. Only a relatively low energy price can support the development of these industries and support the rapid growth of GDP. Low-cost industrial electricity It is an important element that supports the economic development of many regions. Therefore, most local governments prefer to allow power generation companies to lose money and they do not agree to raise tariffs. This is an important reason for difficulties in producing electricity in various regions.” The insider told reporters.

According to the reporter’s investigation of actual conditions in various power-hungry regions, it was found that the shortage of electricity in most regions was not only due to coal shortages and downtime, but also accompanied by the rapid growth in the demand for electricity, and the main part of the increase was for the use of electricity by enterprises, and China’s economic development for low electricity prices. And the dependence on high energy consumption is evident.

"It is recommended that the government quickly change the extensive economic growth mode, implement differentiated electricity prices, and change the development model of local governments to sacrifice energy at a sacrifice of energy in exchange for GDP. From the roots, solve the main problem of generating electricity shortages." A senior power expert in the power generation group think.

The National Development and Reform Commission has been unable to serve as the supervisory authority of the SERC in the face of the energy crisis that is damaging China’s economic development. The central government seems to be “incapable of doing anything”.

The National Development and Reform Commission first restricted the price of key coal, and repeatedly investigated the operation of coal-fired power companies, and even interviewed major coal companies, trying to stabilize the price of coal to ease the impact of rising coal prices on electricity companies. “But it is very difficult for the government to control the shortage of coal. Coal companies can not increase the price of coal, but they can also supply coal without coal.” People in the power generation group believe.

For the issue of coal shortage, the SERC specially authorized the Central China Electricity Regulatory Commission, which had the most serious shortage of electricity, to select several power generation enterprises in Hubei and Jiangxi for investigation. It was found that rising coal prices and shortages of electric coal have seriously damaged the profitability of power companies. And it has become increasingly common for power plants to shut down due to losses and coal shortages.

“The SERC can investigate and confirm problems and make recommendations, but it does not have the power to change anything.” According to power generation companies.

In terms of electricity price adjustment, the SERC also has no real power, and the National Development and Reform Commission has been afraid to make a difference because of pressure from public opinion and fear of inflation risks. Power generation group believes that CEC and various power companies have repeatedly called for speeding up the pace of electricity price reform.

“At present, the government’s solution is still a headache and a headache. For the irrational pricing mechanism and extensive economic problems that have led to the power shortage, there are still no signs of reform. We hope that the government will make up its mind and push forward the reform of electricity prices as soon as possible. The linkage mechanism between energy prices, on-grid tariffs, and sales tariffs should be perfected as soon as possible, and at the same time the current extensive economic development model should be changed as soon as possible to guide the rational allocation and efficient use of electric power resources, said a senior power expert at the power generation group.