On October 15, 2024, after nearly 1000 days of practical testing, the inter-provincial electricity spot market officially commenced operations, marking a significant milestone in the construction of a unified national electricity market.

In 2014, the General Secretary proposed the new energy security strategy of "four revolutions and one cooperation," emphasizing the need to "promote a revolution in the energy system and open up a fast track for energy development" and to "build an effectively competitive market structure and system." The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party pointed out the need to "build a high-level socialist market economic system" and "deepen the reform of energy management system, and construct a unified national electricity market."

State Grid Corporation of China earnestly implemented the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council. Under the care and guidance of the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration, and with the strong support of market entities such as power generation companies and electricity users, it conducted in-depth studies on the design of the electricity market system and actively explored the construction of the inter-provincial electricity spot market, solidly promoting the deepening and solidification of electricity reforms.

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The inter-provincial electricity spot market is an important component of the unified national electricity market and a significant aspect of the market-oriented reform of electricity. It is based on the inter-provincial electricity long-term and medium-term market transactions and utilizes the available transmission capacity of cross-regional channels for day-ahead and intraday spot transactions. Considering the needs for the large-scale optimization and allocation of China's electricity resources, the continuous rapid development of new energy, and the effective connection between inter-provincial and intra-provincial markets, the inter-provincial electricity spot market has, after years of exploration and practice, found a construction path suitable for China's national conditions and grid situation.

Starting with the spot transactions of surplus renewable energy between regions, since its trial operation in January 2022, the market scope has continuously expanded from a point to a surface and now covers the State Grid and the Inner Mongolia Western Grid, effectively promoting inter-provincial power mutual aid, power supply security, and the consumption of clean energy. To date, the inter-provincial electricity spot market has more than 6000 participating entities, covering various types of power generation entities, with a total transaction volume exceeding 880 billion kilowatt-hours, of which clean energy accounts for 44%. The official operation of the inter-provincial electricity spot market will further stabilize market development expectations, stimulate the vitality of market entities, promote the flow of resource elements, and strongly promote the construction of a unified national electricity market.

The official operation of the inter-provincial electricity spot market will promote the optimization and allocation of electricity resources on a larger scale and ensure the safe and reliable supply of electricity. The inter-provincial electricity spot market is closely combined with the operation of power production and realizes the market-oriented mutual aid of electricity surplus and deficit and the large-scale consumption of clean energy. During the summer of 2022, the Yangtze River Basin encountered a rare high-temperature drought disaster, and the power load in the Sichuan-Chongqing, Central China, and East China regions increased. The daily average transaction volume of the inter-provincial electricity spot market was 150 million kilowatt-hours, with a continuous 29 days of transaction power exceeding 10 million kilowatts, and a maximum of 19.05 million kilowatts, playing an important role in ensuring the power supply for the entire network. During this summer, the maximum transaction power of the inter-provincial electricity spot market was 12.85 million kilowatts, accurately supporting 17 provinces such as Sichuan and Jiangsu, playing a key role in ensuring the smooth and orderly supply of electricity. The official operation of the inter-provincial electricity spot market will play the role of market-oriented mutual aid between provinces in electricity surplus and deficit, promote the optimization and allocation of electricity resources on a larger scale, and ensure the safe and reliable supply of electricity.

The official operation of the inter-provincial electricity spot market will promote the coordinated consumption of renewable energy on a larger scale and help the green and low-carbon transformation of energy. The inter-provincial electricity spot market fully considers the fluctuation characteristics of renewable energy, and through innovation in transaction mechanisms and operational practices, fully explores the potential for cross-provincial consumption of renewable energy. As of September 2024, the inter-provincial electricity spot market has accumulated nearly 400 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy consumption. The official operation of the inter-provincial electricity spot market will fully explore the potential for cross-provincial consumption, promote the coordinated consumption of renewable energy on a larger scale, reduce the generation of coal-fired power and the consumption of coal resources, and promote more green and low-carbon energy production and consumption.

The official operation of the inter-provincial electricity spot market will further play the role of price guidance and achieve the economic and efficient allocation of electricity resources. During the operation of the inter-provincial electricity spot market, multi-dimensional price signals such as daily and hourly scales are formed, dynamically reflecting market supply and demand situations and trends. During periods of supply tension, high peak prices reflect resource scarcity and encourage thermal power units to improve their peak capacity. During periods of abundant supply, low valley prices encourage users to use more electricity, leaving space for the consumption of new energy, and improving the utilization level of new energy. At the same time, the inter-provincial electricity spot market promotes the market-oriented transformation of cross-regional power production organization methods, improving the efficiency and fairness of resource allocation. The official operation of the inter-provincial electricity spot market will further play the role of the market in resource optimization and allocation, reflect the spatiotemporal value of electricity, and achieve the economic and efficient use of electricity resources.

At present, China has built the world's largest power grid, providing a solid material foundation for the allocation of electricity resources. Driven by the "dual carbon" goal, the construction of a new type of power system is accelerating, and the basic form and operational characteristics of the power system are undergoing profound changes, putting higher requirements on the construction of a unified national electricity market system. State Grid Corporation of China will promote the high-quality development of the inter-provincial electricity spot market, follow the overall framework of "unified market, two-level operation", promote the efficient coordination of markets at all levels, innovate market transaction mechanisms, improve the compliance management and risk prevention and control system, and improve the level of market standardized operation, making a greater contribution to the construction of a unified national electricity market.