As the hot summer approaches, the issue of electricity consumption has once again become the focus of enterprises.
Recently, high temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius have been common in Zhejiang for many days, and ensuring the supply of electricity for enterprise production has once again attracted attention.
On July 11, the highest electricity load in Zhejiang Province reached 101.9 million kilowatts, a record high, an increase of 1.68 million kilowatts from last year’s highest load. Last year, the maximum power load of Zhejiang Power Grid exceeded 100 million kilowatts for the first time, making it the third provincial power grid with a maximum load of over 100 million kilowatts after Guangdong and Jiangsu.
However, although the electricity load has reached a record high, the heads of enterprises in Ningbo, Shaoxing, Jinhua, Lishui and other places interviewed said that production is normal and there are no power restrictions.
There may be three reasons: first, self-installed photovoltaics by companies to supplement demand; second, market-oriented means to guide companies to shift peak production; third, some manufacturing companies are under-operated and have reduced electricity demand.
The rooftop photovoltaic construction promoted by enterprises across Zhejiang has played a role in ensuring power supply in the summer.
A specialized and new enterprise in Sanmen was not subject to power cuts. Relevant personnel of the company told Zhejiang Business that the company is not a high-energy-consuming company and consumes very little electricity. In addition, last year, the company invested 1.67 million yuan in photovoltaic power generation and put it into use, which not only meets its own production power needs, but also generates 10,000 yuan per month. Many kilowatt-hours of electricity are sold to power companies.
A medium-sized manufacturing company in Wuyi is not subject to power cuts now or last summer. The person in charge of the company said that because the power provided by the government is sufficient. This year, the company installed photovoltaics. In summer, photovoltaic power generation provides 60% of the company’s electricity consumption. “Anything that is not used up can be sold to the power grid.”
The person in charge of a medium-sized manufacturing company in Yiwu said that the company uses about 12,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a day in summer. The company has installed rooftop photovoltaics in the old factory and currently generates about 3,000 kilowatt-hours a day.
Market-based power regulation methods have also been adopted in some places, such as power demand response.
Before the development of demand response, when the contradiction between power supply and demand was acute, administrative measures such as orderly power consumption and load control were more relied on to reduce peak power load. Power demand response uses market-based means to optimize and balance power supply and power demand, giving users more choices.
A medium-sized manufacturing company in Yiwu uses more than 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per hour in its new factory. Recently, the person in charge of the company received a bid-winning SMS notification from the power company. The company will use 300 less electricity during the 1.5 hours in the morning and 3.5 hours in the afternoon during the peak electricity consumption period, and will receive a subsidy of 3.1 yuan per kilowatt hour, which means The company’s off-peak electricity consumption will bring it an income of about 2,000 yuan per day. This subsidy will be paid by enterprises that choose peak power consumption.
According to the above-mentioned person from a listed company in the cable industry in Ningbo, the company’s electricity costs have increased due to the local implementation of market-oriented electricity prices this year.
Some business owners believe that insufficient operation of some manufacturing companies may be one of the reasons why the power supply is still sufficient.
There are currently no power cuts in Keqiao’s printing and dyeing industry. Li Chuanhai, president of the Zhejiang Printing and Dyeing Industry Association, told Zhejiang Merchant, “The entire printing and dyeing industry is not doing well this year. Only 50-60% of the business is now, and the electricity itself is insufficient.” He introduced that the industry’s orders have dropped significantly this year. In terms of exports, orders mainly from the United States have been transferred to Southeast Asia. Domestic consumption has not been boosted due to the impact of the epidemic.
A listed company in the cable industry in Ningbo is currently not subject to power cuts. According to the relevant person in charge of the company, the company’s electricity load is basically the same as last year and can meet production needs. “There are currently no power cuts, probably because the operating rate of the real economy, especially the construction industry represented by manufacturing and real estate, has not returned to its previous high level due to the impact of the epidemic in East China in the first half of the year.”
Relevant people from the Huzhou Elevator Industry Association said that Huzhou elevator companies currently have no power restrictions. A leading food processing company in Qingyuan also said that electricity consumption for production is not restricted.
As for ensuring power supply, a source from the Zhejiang Provincial Energy Bureau told Zhejiang Business that the bureau is currently not initiating orderly power consumption. “We are working every day to ensure power supply and ensure there are no power cuts.”
On May 31 this year, at a press conference on a package of policies and measures to stabilize the economy in Zhejiang Province, Meng Gang, director of the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, introduced the next policy measures to ensure energy. He said that since the beginning of this year, Zhejiang Province has been facing greater pressure to ensure energy supply and stable prices. It is expected that the largest power shortage during the summer peak will reach 6.5-7.5 million kilowatts. The Provincial Development and Reform Commission will make every effort to ensure power supply during the summer peak and increase the peak protection capacity of 9.5 million kilowatts to ensure reliable power supply for residents and enterprises for production and life, and there will never be power cuts.
At present, some counties have issued orderly power consumption plans. According to incomplete statistics, as of now, eight regions in Zhejiang Province, including Tiantai, Yuhuan, Shangyu, Jinhua, Yiwu, Zhuji, Pinghu and Daishan, have introduced or adjusted orderly power consumption plans for 2022. Lishui and Wuyi issued a summer power-saving initiative, advocating that industrial enterprises adjust shifts and stagger production to coordinate with orderly electricity use arrangements.
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