Re-examination of power emergency response under the epidemic test

Tighten the strings of safety risks and emergency construction

Emergency management is a long-term project that requires long-term investment. Whether it is the continued deepening of power system reform, the accelerated low-carbon green transformation, or the cross-border integration of energy and power forms, all determine that the challenges that power emergency management will face in the future will inevitably be complex, huge, and long-term. The outbreak of this epidemic has further verified this point.

Wang Chunming, from the Internet Institute of State Grid Energy Research Institute, believes that after experiencing this unforgettable epidemic, the epistemology of power emergency needs to be adjusted. Low-probability or extremely low-probability events should not be simply attributed to "abnormality" and should not be neglected in actual investment and project arrangements. In the research on energy transformation, full consideration should be given to possible "black swan" events, so that the research on sustainable energy development can be complete.

At present, my country is in a critical period of transforming its development mode, optimizing its economic structure, and transforming its growth momentum. Structural, institutional, and cyclical problems are intertwined, and the impact of the "three-phase superposition" continues to deepen. As a basic energy industry related to the national economy and people's livelihood, the development direction of the power industry is closely related to the macroeconomic situation. During the turbulent period of structural adjustment and reform, the systemic risks of energy and power continue to increase. The inherent conflicts and contradictions hidden in this may be the factors that breed "black swans." "For example, to improve the flexibility of the power grid to adapt to the development of renewable energy, to some extent, it means a decrease in stability. So how flexible and resilient is the power grid system? We are not very sure now. Such problems still need to be fundamentally solved from a theoretical level." Wang Chunming said.

From the perspective of the nationwide epidemic prevention and control war, the power industry and even all walks of life have become more and more deeply connected. Self-safety protection has a far-reaching impact on social operations. Power emergency is not only a technical issue, but also a social and political issue. When studying power emergency theory, we cannot limit ourselves to the technical dimension. "We need to take the COVID-19 epidemic as an opportunity to combine the beneficial results in the field of social sciences, especially the theories in political science, sociology and communication, with the existing knowledge and experience in the field of power technology to guide future power emergency rescue practices." Wang Chunming said.

In addition, under the background of the deepening of the market-oriented reform of the power industry, how to coordinate and take into account the effective allocation of power emergency resources in time and space is an issue that the entire industry and even the whole society should pay attention to and attach importance to. The essence of marketization is to optimize resource allocation through full competition and create economic benefits, while emergency capacity building and emergency response to some extent reflect the responsibility and commitment of power companies. Therefore, in the process of marketization, it is also necessary to fully consider power emergency factors and balance the relationship between economic and social benefits.

I am willing to sit on the bench for ten years, and I will not waste my words on prevention. The power industry generally responded quickly during the epidemic prevention and control, which also proves that the emergency response capabilities of the power industry have been continuously improving in recent years. However, after the epidemic subsides, in the calm daily life, we still need to tighten the strings of safety risks and emergency management, and constantly improve the management system of power emergency, enrich theoretical research, and cultivate a team of talents. It takes a thousand days to raise troops and only a moment to use them. Only by thinking of danger in times of peace can we turn danger into safety.

This article was published in the 2020 issue of China Electric Power Enterprise Management. Weng Shuang is a reporter for this magazine, and Zhu Ke is a special correspondent for this magazine.