Two ministries: The shareholding ratio of a single shareholder of a power trading institution shall not exceed 50%

Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting the Independent and Standardized Operation of Power Trading Institutions" (hereinafter referred to as the "Implementation Opinions"), which clearly stated that the shareholding ratio of a single shareholder of a power trading institution (hereinafter referred to as a trading institution) shall not exceed 50%. In the first half of 2020, the shareholding ratio of power grid enterprises in the two regional trading institutions in Beijing and Guangzhou and the provincial (autonomous region, municipality) trading institutions all dropped below 80%, and the shareholding ratio of power grid enterprises dropped below 50% by the end of 2020.

The "Implementation Opinions" clearly state that by the end of 2020, the equity structure of regional trading institutions and provincial (autonomous region, municipality) trading institutions will be further optimized, trading rules will be effectively connected, the functions of dispatching institutions will be clearly divided, and business cooperation will be orderly; by the end of 2022, all regions will further standardize and improve the market framework, trading rules, trading products, etc. in light of actual conditions, and trading institutions in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and other regions will be integrated with each other, and an electricity market that meets the requirements of regional economic integration will be initially formed; by the end of 2025, a nationwide unified electricity trading organization system with standardized entities, complete functions, a full range of products, efficient coordination will be basically established.

The "Implementation Opinions" require that we adhere to the principles of safety, reliability and market-oriented reform, accelerate the independent and standardized operation of power trading institutions, further improve the open and transparent power market trading platform, accelerate the establishment of a market-oriented electricity price formation mechanism, and establish a power operation risk prevention and control mechanism to create conditions for gradually realizing the full liberalization of power generation and consumption plans of commercial power users.

The Implementation Opinions clarify the functional positioning of trading institutions, market management committees and dispatching institutions. It requires all regions to further improve the procedures for formulating power trading rules based on market principles and the technical characteristics of power commodities. It requires trading institutions to standardize personnel, asset and financial management. It requires trading institutions and dispatching institutions to jointly organize and implement power market transactions, and explore the possibility of day-ahead transactions organized by trading institutions in areas where conditions such as power grid structure, technical support system and professional capabilities of trading institutions are relatively mature. It requires relevant units to improve information sharing and security guarantee mechanisms to ensure that power operation information is safe and controllable. It requires relevant government departments to accelerate the construction of the industry credit system and further strengthen the construction of a professional supervision system.