Shanxi Energy Regulatory Office recently joined with Shanxi Energy Bureau to convene a summer peak power supply assurance meeting with grid companies and power generation enterprises. The meeting analysis showed that Shanxi’s power supply and demand will be basically balanced during the summer peak period. It is estimated that during the summer, the provincial grid’s noon peak load will reach 44,000 MW, a year-on-year increase of 6.3%, and the evening peak load will reach 42,500 MW, a year-on-year increase of 5.5%. The province’s stable generation capacity is expected to be between 49,000 MW and 54,400 MW. In extreme situations, supply gaps may occur at certain times, and supply will be ensured through medium- and long-term trading, inter-provincial spot markets, and emergency support.
With regard to power market operators, the meeting required fully leveraging the role of the spot market in discovering real-time prices and accurately reflecting supply and demand. Through time-of-use price signals, power generation enterprises will be guided to ramp up generation during peak hours and power users to shift peak loads, while actively participating in inter-provincial spot markets to maximize the benefits of inter-grid load balancing via market mechanisms. Additionally, monitoring and analysis of spot market operations should be strengthened, with special attention during the summer to high prices, floor prices, and retail market conditions in the spot market. An emergency response system for the power market should be improved, and issues such as abnormal market fluctuations and sudden supply-demand gaps should be handled prudently to avoid sharp market price swings.
Requirements for power generation enterprises include: implementing grid-connected operation assessment requirements, strictly adhering to dispatch discipline, reasonably arranging maintenance schedules, strengthening unit operation and maintenance management, ensuring coal storage, effectively reducing forced output reductions and unplanned outages, and ensuring units have the capacity for stable and full-load generation.
Going forward, Shanxi Energy Regulatory Office will continue to strengthen energy supply and demand monitoring and early warning, promptly analyze and assess the power supply assurance situation, and make good use of the power market adjustment mechanism to support summer peak power supply assurance work.