Editor's note:
On February 23rd, Xin Bao'an, Chairman and Party Secretary of State Grid Corporation of China, published a signed article in People's Daily, focusing on striving to increase the installed capacity of the company's operating area's pumped storage power stations from the current 26.3 million kilowatts to 100 million kilowatts and electrochemical energy storage from 3 million kilowatts to 100 million kilowatts by 2030.


The full text is as follows:
Resolutely shoulder the responsibility of the power grid and actively promote carbon neutrality
Xin Bao'an People's Daily (February 23, 2022, 12th edition)
The Central Economic Work Conference held at the end of last year clearly pointed out the need to have a correct understanding and grasp of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. This provides a fundamental guideline for us to promote high-quality "dual carbon" work.

The power grid connects power production and consumption, and is an important platform for the conversion, utilization, and optimization of various types of energy. It plays an important role and bears important responsibilities in promoting the energy revolution and serving the "dual carbon" goals. After the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed the "dual carbon" goal, State Grid Corporation of China immediately implemented it, released and implemented the first "dual carbon" action plan for domestic enterprises and the action plan for building a new power system, introduced a series of practical measures, and strived to become the promoter, pioneer, and leader of the energy revolution.

Ensure the safe and reliable supply of electricity in promoting "dual carbon". In the second half of last year, due to factors such as shortage of coal supply and insufficient output of coal-fired power units, some regions in China experienced a tight supply and demand of electricity. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council attach great importance to strengthening the work deployment of coal, electricity, oil and gas transportation in all aspects. State Grid Corporation of China strengthens its political responsibility and solidly ensures the supply of electricity. At present and in the future, China is still in an important stage of rapid development in industrialization and new urbanization, and the total energy consumption will continue to maintain a rigid growth. Ensuring the safe and reliable supply of electricity will be a long-term and arduous task. State Grid Corporation of China will spare no effort to take responsibility and fulfill its duties. On the one hand, we should provide good power grid connection services and scientific scheduling, coordinate and support the energy-saving and carbon reduction transformation, flexibility transformation, and heating transformation of active coal-fired power units, as well as the development of new energy and clean energy. We should promote the early operation of support and guarantee power sources, ensure the integration of various types of power sources, increase and stabilize supply, and implement the requirement of gradually phasing out traditional energy based on the safe and reliable replacement of new energy. On the other hand, we should fully leverage the platform role of the power grid in optimizing resource allocation, optimizing power grid scheduling and electricity trading, deeply tapping into the potential of cross regional and cross provincial power transmission channels, increasing inter provincial surplus and deficit mutual assistance, and maximizing the balance of electricity and electricity. At the same time, we will cooperate with the government to strengthen demand side management of electricity, guide users to reasonably avoid peak loads, and ensure stable and orderly electricity supply.

Promote the development of the power grid and the efficient coordination of emission reduction and carbon reduction in various regions and industries. We also need to fully consider the objective reality of regional resource distribution and industrial division of labor, study and determine the direction of industrial structure adjustment and the "dual carbon" action plan in various regions, and do not follow a one size fits all approach. State Grid Corporation of China covers 26 provinces in its operating areas, with electricity sales accounting for 80% of the total social electricity consumption in the operating areas. We will always plan and promote various work from the perspective of promoting energy revolution and serving the "dual carbon" work, and continuously optimize the company's action plan. In practice, we adhere to adapting measures to local conditions and the power grid, and scientifically carry out power grid planning and construction based on the development stages, energy and resource endowments, and the "dual carbon" process of each province and region. At the same time, we will support industrial optimization and upgrading, implement the national comprehensive conservation strategy, promote and guide energy conservation and emission reduction throughout society, and accelerate the formation of green production and lifestyle. Focusing on key areas such as industry, transportation, construction, and residential life, we will steadily and orderly implement electricity substitution, encourage energy-saving, efficient, and green electricity use. Focusing on key directions such as multi energy complementarity, intelligent energy use, and energy efficiency management, we will accelerate the construction of a number of comprehensive energy service projects, leverage the coupling and complementary effects of different energy systems such as electricity, gas, heat, cooling, and hydrogen, as well as the digital empowerment effect, to demonstrate and promote the development of the comprehensive energy service industry. Focusing on the value mining of big data in electricity, strengthening services such as "electricity looks at the economy" and "electricity looks at the environment", helping the country firmly curb the blind development of high energy consumption, high emissions, and low-level projects, and control unreasonable electricity demand.

Vigorously promote the construction of a new energy supply and consumption system. We must also take a long-term perspective, overcome the mentality of seeking quick success and instant benefits, grasp the pace and intensity of carbon reduction, seek truth from facts, step by step, and continue to make efforts. Promoting the energy revolution and achieving the "dual carbon" goals will bring profound changes to the development pattern and functional form of the power grid, which will be a long-term dynamic evolution process. We will grasp the overall situation, insight into trends, start from the current reality, do a good job, continuously optimize the development layout of the power grid, increase the construction of ultra-high voltage and supporting power grids, and vigorously promote the construction of a new energy supply and consumption system. We strive to increase the cross regional and cross provincial transmission capacity of the State Grid of China from the current 240 million kilowatts to over 370 million kilowatts by 2030 through the efforts of the 14th and 15th Five Year Plans. We will fully serve the construction of large-scale wind and photovoltaic bases in deserts and Gobi deserts, and provide strong grid support for the development of various clean energy sources. In response to the practical requirements of improving the regulation capacity of the power system for the development of energy storage, we will vigorously strengthen the construction of technically mature pumped storage power stations, actively support the large-scale application of new energy storage, and strive to increase the installed capacity of pumped storage power stations in the company's operating area from 26.3 million kilowatts to 100 million kilowatts and electrochemical energy storage from 3 million kilowatts to 100 million kilowatts by 2030. In response to the major technical challenges faced by the development and safe operation of the power system under the "dual carbon" scenario, we will deeply implement the Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan, vigorously carry out major technological breakthroughs such as flexible DC transmission, virtual power plants, safety and stability control of large power grids, and ultra-high voltage tap changers, strengthen basic research and cutting-edge technology layout, and strive for more innovative breakthroughs from 0 to 1.

Actively implement the deployment of the Party Central Committee to deepen the market-oriented reform of electricity. State Grid Corporation of China will persist in promoting reforms to solve difficult problems, promote development, and ensure safety. We will coordinate the construction of medium - and long-term, spot, and auxiliary service markets, actively study and promote the coordinated operation and integrated development of the electricity carbon markets, and fully leverage the role of the market in optimizing the allocation of electricity resources; Solidly carry out proxy purchasing of electricity, information disclosure and other work to ensure the stability of electricity demand and prices for residents and agriculture; Summarize and draw on the positive and negative experiences of foreign electricity marketization reforms, consolidate and leverage the advantages of China's long-term unified planning, unified scheduling, and unified management system in the power grid; Continuously deepen research on major issues related to energy and electricity development under the background of "dual carbon", and serve the country in establishing and improving institutional mechanisms and policy environments that are compatible with the "dual carbon" process.

In the coordinated promotion of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, State Grid Corporation of China bears significant responsibilities and historical missions.

(The author is the Chairman and Party Secretary of State Grid Corporation of China Limited)



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