On November 29, spearheaded by the National Energy Administration (NEA), the China Electricity Council brought more than twenty entities together to jointly issue the “Blue Book on the Development Plan for a Unified National Electricity Market”. The Blue Book shares details on the roadmap and timetable for the development of the unified national electricity market.
2025-2029
According to the plan, by 2025, China will establish a unified national electricity market with common trading rules and technical standards.
By 2029, the unified national electricity market will have matured, with a centralised market system and rules, robust market supervision, and a high degree of market infrastructure connectivity.
Rapid Development of Electricity Market
The unified national electricity market has rapidly developed over the past few years. This included the establishment of market rules, the formation of the multi-level market framework, the large-scale increase of market transactions, and the effectiveness of market mechanisms for trading.
According to data, the national electricity market has grown nearly five times since 2016 with 5,670 TWh of power traded in 2023. This accounts for 61.4% of China’s total electricity consumption. The market has played an increasing role in the optimal allocation of power resources, with 1,200 TWh of power traded across provinces and regions. Activity in the electricity market has further increased, with a total of 743,000 business entities registered in the national electricity market, a year-on-year increase of 23.9% from 2022.
The pace of new energy entering the market has also been further accelerated. In 2023, the amount of new energy traded reached 684.5 TWh, accounting for 47.3% of all new energy power generation. The proportion of new energy participation in the market of some large power generation enterprises has exceeded 50%. In the first half of 2024, 160 million green certificates were traded and the amount of green electricity traded nationwide reached 151.93 TWh, a year-on-year increase of 233%.
Roadmap for a Unified National Electricity Market
With the rapid increase in new energy installations, coupled with the fluctuation of energy prices, the growth of electricity load and extreme climate change and other factors, China’s power system operation and power market operation are undergoing profound changes. These factors reflect the urgency of accelerating the reform of the power system. The Blue Book focuses on the key issues of the power market and explores market development planning ideas and construction goals that are suitable for the Chinese market its requirements for development.
Among the basic principles of development set out in the Blue Book include safety and reliability, market orientation, integrity and innovation, and system coordination. It also states short and medium term goals to accomplish which include building: a multi-faceted unified power market structure; a functional market system; a market mechanism that adapts to green and low-carbon transformation; a system that is secure, flexible and interactive; and an open, transparent and orderly ecosystem.
With China’s national unified electricity market set to experience exponential growth, China’s Green Electricity Certificate (GEC) trading is also poised for a boom. According to the NEA, more than 4.7 billion GECs were issued in 2024. Demand for GECs is expected to rise as businesses seek to prove consumption of clean and renewable energy to meet local and international standards.
Contact REDEX at enquiry@redex.eco to find out more about GECs and how we can support your renewable energy journey.
