China sets pricing rule for electricity stabilising services

CHINA’S state planner is moving to refine the pricing mechanisms for services essential to stabilising power supply in markets increasingly dependent on wind and solar power, in a fresh step towards creating a national electricity market by 2030.

The National Development and Reform Council (NDRC) said in a notice on Thursday that it would “further promote the development of an ancillary services market” that would be “suited to the development needs of a new energy system”.

NDRC, in the notice, said it would focus on optimising pricing mechanisms for standby capacity, frequency modulation and so-called peak shaving – which are ancillary services essential to maintaining reliable electricity supply.

The peak-shaving market allows power companies to buy power from quick-ramping sources, such as energy storage and flexible coal plants, to help them meet spikes in demand.

Frequency regulation helps to maintain normal frequency on the grid, a function that can be performed by battery storage systems and generators such as coal and gas-fired plants.

The ancillary services rule is among a series of basic documents setting out the rules for a national electricity market by 2025, with the market’s start targeted for 2030. REUTERS