Actively promote the construction of a new type of power system with new energy as the main body, and make positive contributions to achieving the national carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals.

 

1、 Electricity consumption and production supply

 

In 2020, the total electricity consumption of the whole society in China was 752.14 billion kilowatt hours, an increase of 3.2% over the previous year, and a decrease of 1.2 percentage points in growth rate compared to the previous year; National per capita electricity consumption is 5331 kWh/person, an increase of 145 kWh/person over the previous year; The overall electricity supply and demand situation in the country is balanced, with some areas having surplus electricity and some areas experiencing tight electricity supply during peak periods. During the epidemic prevention and control period, the electricity supply is sufficient and reliable, providing strong power guarantee for the epidemic prevention and control of the whole society and the development of the national economy.

 

As of the end of 2020, the total installed capacity of power generation in China was 2202.04 million kilowatts, an increase of 9.6% over the previous year. Among them, hydropower reached 370.28 million kilowatts, an increase of 3.4% over the previous year (pumped storage reached 31.49 million kilowatts, an increase of 4.0% over the previous year); Thermal power generation reached 1246.24 million kilowatts, an increase of 4.8% over the previous year (coal-fired power generation reached 1079.12 million kilowatts, an increase of 3.7% over the previous year; gas-fired power generation reached 99.72 million kilowatts, an increase of 10.5% over the previous year); Nuclear power reached 49.89 million kilowatts, an increase of 2.4% over the previous year; The grid connected wind power was 281.65 million kilowatts, an increase of 34.7% over the previous year; Grid connected solar power generation reached 253.56 million kilowatts, an increase of 24.1% over the previous year.

 

In 2020, the national total power generation was 7626.4 billion kilowatt hours, an increase of 4.1% over the previous year, and a decrease of 0.7 percentage points in growth rate compared to the previous year. Among them, hydropower reached 1355.3 billion kilowatt hours, an increase of 4.1% over the previous year (pumped storage reached 33.5 billion kilowatt hours, an increase of 5.0% over the previous year); Thermal power reached 5177 billion kilowatt hours, an increase of 2.6% over the previous year (coal power reached 4629.6 billion kilowatt hours, an increase of 1.7% over the previous year; natural gas reached 252.5 billion kilowatt hours, an increase of 8.6% over the previous year); Nuclear power reached 366.2 billion kilowatt hours, an increase of 5.0% over the previous year; Grid connected wind power reached 466.5 billion kilowatt hours, an increase of 15.1% over the previous year; Grid connected solar power generation reached 261.1 billion kilowatt hours, an increase of 16.6% over the previous year.

 

As of the end of 2020, preliminary statistics show that the circuit length of 220 kV and above transmission lines in the national power grid was 794000 kilometers, an increase of 4.6% over the previous year; The capacity of 220 kV and above substation equipment in the national power grid was 4.53 billion kVA, an increase of 4.9% over the previous year; The national cross regional transmission capacity has reached 156.15 million kilowatts (cross regional grid to grid transmission capacity of 142.81 million kilowatts; cross regional point to grid transmission capacity of 13.34 million kilowatts). In 2020, the national cross regional power transmission reached 647.4 billion kilowatt hours, an increase of 13.3% over the previous year.

 

2、 Electricity Investment and Construction

 

In 2020, major power companies in China completed a total investment of 1018.9 billion yuan, an increase of 22.8% over the previous year. The total investment in power engineering construction in China reached 529.2 billion yuan, an increase of 29.5% over the previous year. Among them, hydropower completed an investment of 106.7 billion yuan, an increase of 17.9% over the previous year; Thermal power completed an investment of 56.8 billion yuan, a decrease of 27.3% from the previous year; Nuclear power completed an investment of 37.9 billion yuan, a decrease of 18.0% from the previous year; Wind power completed an investment of 265.3 billion yuan, an increase of 71.0% over the previous year; Solar power generation completed an investment of 62.5 billion yuan, an increase of 62.2% over the previous year. The investment in the construction of national power grid projects reached 489.6 billion yuan, a decrease of 2.3% from the previous year. Among them, the direct current project amounted to 53.2 billion yuan, an increase of 113.4% over the previous year; The communication project amounted to 418.8 billion yuan, a decrease of 7.5% from the previous year, accounting for 85.5% of the total investment in the power grid.

 

In 2020, the newly installed power generation capacity in China was 191.44 million kilowatts, an increase of 86.43 million kilowatts from the previous year. Among them, 13.13 million kilowatts of hydropower (1.2 million kilowatts of pumped storage), 56.6 million kilowatts of thermal power (40.3 million kilowatts of coal-fired power and 8.24 million kilowatts of gas-fired power), 1.12 million kilowatts of nuclear power, 72.11 million kilowatts of grid connected wind power installed capacity, and 48.2 million kilowatts of grid connected solar power installed capacity were added.

 

In 2020, the total length of newly added AC transmission lines of 110 kV and above and the capacity of substation equipment were 57237 km and 312.92 million kVA, respectively, a decrease of 1.2% and 2.0% compared to the previous year. 4444 kilometers of new direct current transmission lines were put into operation throughout the year, with a newly put into operation converter capacity of 52 million kilowatts.

 

3、 Green development of electricity

 

As of the end of 2020, the total installed capacity of non fossil energy power generation in China was 985.66 million kilowatts, an increase of 16.8% over the previous year. In 2020, non fossil energy power generation reached 2583 billion kilowatt hours, an increase of 7.9% over the previous year. About 950 million kilowatts of coal-fired power units have reached the ultra-low emission limit, accounting for approximately 88% of the total installed capacity of coal-fired power in China. The cumulative amount of substitute electricity completed throughout the year was 225.21 billion kilowatt hours, an increase of 9.0% over the previous year, and the substitute electricity has been increasing year by year.

 

In 2020, the standard coal consumption for power supply of 6000 kW and above thermal power plants nationwide was 304.9 g/kWh, a decrease of 1.5 g/kWh compared to the previous year; The power consumption rate of power plants with a capacity of 6000 kilowatts and above nationwide is 4.65%, a decrease of 0.02 percentage points from the previous year; The national line loss rate was 5.60%, a decrease of 0.33 percentage points from the previous year.

 

In 2020, the emissions of electricity smoke, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides in China were approximately 155000 tons, 780000 tons, and 874000 tons, respectively, a decrease of 15.1%, 12.7%, and 6.3% from the previous year; The emissions of smoke, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides per unit of thermal power generation were 0.032 g/kWh, 0.160 g/kWh, and 0.179 g/kWh, respectively, a decrease of 0.006 g/kWh, 0.027 g/kWh, and 0.016 g/kWh from the previous year.

 

In 2020, the carbon dioxide emissions per unit of thermal power generation in China were about 832 grams per kilowatt hour, a decrease of 20.6% compared to 2005; The carbon dioxide emissions per unit of electricity generation in China are about 565 grams per kilowatt hour, a decrease of 34.1% compared to 2005. Based on 2005, from 2006 to 2020, the power industry has cumulatively reduced carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 18.53 billion tons through measures such as developing non fossil fuels, reducing coal consumption and line loss rates. Among them, the contribution rate of non fossil energy development is 62%, the contribution rate of reducing coal consumption for power supply to carbon dioxide emissions reduction in the power industry is 36%, and the contribution rate of reducing line loss to carbon dioxide emissions reduction is 2.6%.

 

4、 Operation of power enterprises

 

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, by the end of 2020, the total assets of large-scale power enterprises in China were 1.65813 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.8% over the previous year. Among them, the total assets of power generation enterprises were 9472.4 billion yuan, an increase of 4.2% over the previous year; The total assets of power supply enterprises were 7108.9 billion yuan, an increase of 7.9% over the previous year.

 

In 2020, the total liabilities of large-scale power enterprises reached 9597.1 billion yuan, an increase of 4.7% over the previous year. Among them, the total liabilities of power generation enterprises increased by 1.9% compared to the previous year (the total liabilities of thermal power enterprises decreased by 3.4% compared to the previous year, and the total liabilities of hydropower enterprises increased by 4.5% compared to the previous year); The total liabilities of power grid enterprises increased by 10.0% compared to the previous year. The asset liability ratio of large-scale power enterprises was 57.9%, a decrease of 0.6 percentage points from the previous year. Among them, the asset liability ratio of power generation enterprises was 64.5%, a decrease of 1.5 percentage points from the previous year; The asset liability ratio of power supply enterprises was 49.1%, an increase of 0.9 percentage points from the previous year. In 2020, the total profit of large-scale power enterprises was 401 billion yuan, an increase of 2.8% over the previous year. The total profit of power generation enterprises is 352.3 billion yuan, but the coal-fired power business of large power generation groups continues to suffer overall losses. The profit growth rates of wind power and solar power generation were 16.3% and 3.0% respectively, but the shortage of cash flow has led to difficulties in capital turnover for enterprises. The total profit of power supply enterprises was 48.6 billion yuan, a decrease of 49.6% from the previous year; The loss amount of loss making enterprises was 21 billion yuan, an increase of 42.7% over the previous year.

 

5、 Electricity marketization reform

 

In 2020, the country formulated and introduced the second regulatory period (2020-2022) transmission and distribution electricity prices for provincial and regional power grids, announced the fifth batch of pilot reforms for incremental distribution business, and further promoted the construction of the electricity market.

 

In 2020, various electricity trading centers across the country organized the completion of 3166.3 billion kilowatt hours of market traded electricity, a year-on-year increase of 11.7%. Among them, the total amount of electricity directly traded in the national electricity market was 2476 billion kilowatt hours, an increase of 13.7% over the previous year, accounting for 32.9% of the total electricity consumption in society, an increase of 2.8 percentage points over the previous year, and accounting for 40.2% of the electricity sold by power grid enterprises, an increase of 3.3 percentage points over the previous year. The scale of market-oriented trading in the national electricity market has reached a new level.

 

6、 Standardization, Technology, and Informatization of Electric Power

 

In 2020, 291 power standard plans under the jurisdiction of China Electricity Council were issued by relevant government departments, and a total of 233 power standards under the jurisdiction of China Electricity Council were approved for release; The China Electricity Council has issued 304 group standard plans and released 192 group standards. As of the end of 2020, there were over 3600 electricity standards. In the field of hydropower, the technical standard system for the products, installation, operation and maintenance, and testing of hydro generators and electrical equipment has been improved. In the field of thermal power, standards pay more attention to the development of five new technologies, including "new technologies, new processes, new materials, new equipment, and new products". In the field of conventional island operation and maintenance, construction acceptance, equipment and facilities, commissioning, testing and experimentation, nuclear power has accelerated the revision of standards. In the field of distributed photovoltaic power station centralized operation and maintenance, photovoltaic power station power control, photovoltaic power station project management, etc., relevant national standards, industry standards, and China Electricity Council standards have been formulated and released; The power grid has released and formulated relevant standards in the field of distribution network, established a ± 800 kV high-voltage direct current standard system, and the release of the series of standards for wireless charging systems for electric vehicles has filled the gap of national standards and specifications in the field of wireless charging technology for electric vehicles in China.

 

In 2020, major power companies invested 111.3 billion yuan in technology, including 51.04 billion yuan for power generation companies, 38.77 billion yuan for power grid companies, and 21.49 billion yuan for power construction companies. Major power companies have applied for 63082 domestic patents, granted 37158 patents, and accumulated 211554 valid patents; 613 foreign-related patents have been applied for, 268 have been authorized, and a total of 863 have been valid. The continuous development of power generation technology and equipment towards high parameters, large capacity, high efficiency, and low emissions has consolidated China's leading advantages in ultra supercritical coal-fired power generation technology, circulating fluidized bed combustion technology, hydropower station construction technology, third-generation nuclear power technology, wind power generation technology, and equipment manufacturing. In the field of power grid, we have carried out centralized research, demonstration tests, and promotion and application in the directions of safe and efficient operation of power grid, integration of Internet and power grid applications, grid connection control of new energy and energy storage, new electrical materials and devices, and high-end electrical equipment.

 

In 2020, the power industry increased investment in information technology construction, consolidated the foundation of digital transformation, accelerated the construction of basic digital technology platforms, accelerated the construction of data governance systems, and focused on improving the level of information security protection; Accelerate the construction of new infrastructure, accelerate the research and development of core technologies, and promote the development of digital industrialization; Accelerate the development of digital transformation plans and roadmaps, collaborate to promote digital transformation work, focus on building digital transformation demonstrations for power enterprises, and enter a new stage of power informationization construction.

 

7、 International Cooperation in Electric Power

 

In 2020, the total amount of outward direct investment by major Chinese power companies was 7.85 billion US dollars, an increase of 84.3% year-on-year; There are a total of 32 foreign direct investment projects, mainly involving thermal power, new energy, hydropower, power transmission and transformation, mineral resources and energy storage, etc., directly creating 59000 job opportunities for the project location.

 

In 2020, China's major power companies signed 131 new contract projects annually, with a contract amount of 27.17 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 12.8%, creating 32000 job opportunities for the local area. The newly signed overseas engineering contracting projects involve 51 countries and regions, with Asian and African projects accounting for the largest proportion, at 59.5% and 21.3% respectively.

 

In 2020, the total annual export of power equipment by major Chinese power companies was 2.23 billion US dollars, a decrease of 10.1% from the previous year; Among them, the total direct export value of equipment was 420 million US dollars, and the total export value of equipment driven by overseas projects was 1.81 billion US dollars. The total export value of power technology services was 1.12 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 14.5%; Among them, the direct export of technical services amounted to 530 million US dollars, while overseas projects drove the export of technical services by 590 million US dollars.

 

As of the end of 2020, cross-border electricity transactions between China and neighboring countries such as Russia, Mongolia, Vietnam, and Myanmar have been preliminarily achieved. Preliminary statistics show that China has completed a total of 8.7 billion kilowatt hours of electricity exchange with neighboring countries, an increase of 1.8% over the previous year. Among them, the purchased electricity was 4.5 billion kilowatt hours, an increase of 1.4%; The electricity output was 4.2 billion kilowatt hours, an increase of 2.2%.

 

Looking back on the 13th Five Year Plan, China's power industry has continued to maintain rapid growth, with comprehensive strength reaching a new level. The clean and low-carbon development of power has entered a new stage, with new achievements in independent innovation of power technology. The reform of the power system has opened up a new chapter, and international cooperation in power has created a new situation. The electrification process has reached a new level, and new progress has been made in the high-quality development of power. The installed capacity of power generation across the country increased from 1.53 billion kilowatts at the end of 2015 to 2.2 billion kilowatts at the end of 2020, with an average annual growth rate of 7.6%; The national total power generation increased from 5739.9 billion kilowatt hours in 2015 to 7626.4 billion kilowatt hours in 2020, with an average annual growth rate of 5.8%; The total electricity consumption in society increased from 5693.3 billion kilowatt hours in 2015 to 752.14 billion kilowatt hours in 2020, with an average annual growth rate of 5.7%; The proportion of non fossil energy power generation installed capacity increased from 34.9% in 2015 to 44.8% in 2020; The proportion of non fossil energy generation increased from 27.3% in 2015 to 33.9% in 2020; The per capita electricity consumption increased from 4142 kWh/person in 2015 to 5331 kWh/person in 2020; The proportion of electricity in terminal energy consumption increased from 22.1% in 2015 to 26.4% in 2019.

 

Looking ahead to the 14th Five Year Plan, under the background of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, China's electricity consumption is showing rigid and sustained growth. The power industry not only faces the arduous task of peaking itself, but also needs to support the whole society to peak as soon as possible. The potential for electricity substitution is huge in the future, and the degree of electrification in the whole society will steadily increase. The new pattern of dual circulation development drives continuous growth in electricity consumption, with the conversion of old and new driving forces. The growth rate of traditional high energy consuming industries has declined, and high-tech and equipment manufacturing industries, as well as modern service industries, will become the main driving force for electricity consumption growth. The construction of new urbanization will drive the rigid growth of electricity demand. Taking into account factors such as energy conservation awareness and improvement in energy efficiency, it is expected that the total electricity consumption in China will exceed 9.5 trillion kilowatt hours by 2025, with an average annual growth rate of over 4.8% during the 14th Five Year Plan period. To meet the electricity demand for embarking on a new journey of building a socialist modernized country, it is expected that China's installed power generation capacity will reach 2.9 billion kilowatts by 2025, with non fossil energy power generation accounting for 52% of the total installed capacity.