Deepen the reform of energy rule of law to promote high-quality energy development

Song Wen, Director of the Legal and Institutional Reform Department of the National Energy Administration In the year of deepening energy legal and reform efforts, under the strong leadership of the Party Committee of the National Energy Administration, the Legal and Institutional Reform Department thoroughly studied and implemented Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee. We earnestly implemented the new strategy for energy security, adhered to a systematic approach and problem-oriented methods, and coordinated the advancement of energy legal development and market-oriented reforms. We increased institutional support for energy transition, focusing on promoting the introduction of one law, one book, and two reform documents, and achieved breakthrough progress in building a nationally unified electricity market.

Promote the enactment of a fundamental law in the energy sector. Efforts will be made to advance the introduction of the Energy Law, incorporating key provisions such as improving the energy planning and standard systems, refining the energy supply guarantee system, establishing a robust green and low-carbon energy development framework, and enhancing market-oriented energy mechanisms. These measures aim to consolidate legislative consensus among stakeholders and facilitate the smooth promulgation of the Energy Law. Additionally, initiatives will include organizing promotional and explanatory activities for the Energy Law, drafting authoritative interpretations, and translating it into English, thereby uniting legal forces to drive high-quality development in the energy sector.

Comprehensively advance the legal framework for energy. Conven meetings of the bureau's legal construction leadership group to clarify key tasks in legal development, address major issues in energy legislation and enforcement, and summarize the annual progress in building a law-based government for submission to the CPC Central Committee. Enhance the level of law-based administration. Handle administrative reconsideration and litigation cases, conduct legal reviews of the bureau's administrative normative documents and responses to government information disclosures, and strictly prevent administrative legal risks.

Strengthen policy support for the green energy transition. The white paper "China's Energy Transformation" was compiled and released to comprehensively showcase the historic achievements China has made in promoting green and low-carbon energy development on the 10th anniversary of the new energy security strategy. It shared China's practical approaches to energy transition and demonstrated its contributions to global green and low-carbon energy development. Efforts were organized to implement the annual tasks outlined in the "Guidelines on Improving the Institutional Mechanisms and Policy Measures for Green and Low-Carbon Energy Transition," promoting key energy-consuming industries to establish robust transition mechanisms and accelerating the adoption of green and low-carbon production and lifestyles.

Two reform documents were formulated and issued. Key reform tasks across the bureau were systematically advanced. The annual comprehensive deepening reform leadership group meeting of the bureau was convened to outline key energy reform priorities for the year; regular thematic meetings of the bureau’s reform leadership group office were held to ensure the implementation of reform tasks. The bureau’s Party leadership group organized the formulation of key reform tasks to implement the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, planning the energy sector’s reform agenda for the coming years, clarifying tasks and measures, and accelerating the construction of a new energy system through institutional and mechanism innovation to drive high-quality energy development. The "Guidelines on Supporting the Innovative Development of New Business Entities in the Power Sector" were issued to unlock the flexible regulation potential of distribution-side resources, enhance the security capabilities of the power system, and promote the integration of renewable energy.

Promote new breakthroughs in the construction of a nationally unified electricity market. Facilitate the transition of the inter-provincial electricity spot markets in Shandong, Gansu, and the operating areas of the State Grid into formal operation, where the electricity spot market has played a positive role in ensuring supply and promoting transformation. Guide and promote the first full-month settlement trial operation of the Southern Regional Electricity Market, making it a national model for regional electricity market construction and marking a significant step forward in the development of a nationally unified electricity market system.

To foster new quality productive forces through reform and empower the high-quality development of the energy sector. The energy sector is currently undergoing structural transformation and systemic reshaping: first, the decarbonization of energy supply demands higher system regulation capabilities; second, the increased flexibility in energy consumption presents greater challenges but also more opportunities for enhancing system resilience; third, the diversification of power balance models requires more from grid resource allocation methods. Significant changes in energy structure, layout, and operational models necessitate deepening market-oriented energy reforms, advancing energy legal frameworks, accelerating the removal of market entry barriers, optimizing dispatch and trading mechanisms, and unlocking the potential for flexible regulation among market participants, all to better drive the high-quality development of new energy.

We should leverage the rule of law to shape new production relations and translate institutional strengths into governance efficacy. The market economy is, in essence, a rule-of-law economy. We should apply rule-of-law thinking and methods to advance market-oriented reforms in the energy sector. In the face of new circumstances and requirements, China needs to accelerate the development of its energy-related legal framework. We should promptly formulate and revise laws and regulations, improve supporting energy laws, regulations, and policies, build consensus on reform, refine market institutions, and accelerate the establishment of a well-conceived and coherent legal framework for the energy sector, so that the rule of law can play its fundamental, stabilizing, and long-term role in ensuring development.

The market-oriented reform of the energy sector must achieve "three enhancements." Improve the top-level design to enhance the quality of building a unified national energy market system. Research and advance the construction of a unified national energy market system, promoting complementary substitution and coordinated operation among different energy types such as coal, oil, gas, and electricity. Accelerate the development of a unified national electricity market to enhance the efficiency of optimized electricity resource allocation. Study and propose the objectives, tasks, and pathways for the next phase of building a unified national electricity market, expedite the standardized development of provincial electricity markets, and foster innovative exploration and high-quality development of electricity markets in continuously operating regions. Promote long-cycle settlement trial operations in the Southern Regional Electricity Market to enhance the capacity for optimized resource allocation on a broader scale. Conduct a comprehensive review of the full-month settlement trial operations, continuously refine market rules, and transition to long-cycle settlement trial operations, creating a model for regional electricity market development that robustly supports major national development strategies.

Promoting the Improvement of Energy Governance Efficiency through the Implementation of the Energy Law. Advancing the implementation of the Energy Law. Using the enforcement of the Energy Law as a focal point, deploy all tasks for the annual construction of a law-based government. Collaborate with the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress to publish interpretations of the Energy Law and conduct industry-wide training to enhance the legal understanding, application, and enforcement capabilities of energy professionals. Establish cross-departmental and central-local coordination mechanisms to facilitate the introduction of supporting laws, regulations, and systems for the Energy Law, thereby solidifying the legal foundation for high-quality energy development. Enhancing Law-Based Administration in the Energy Sector. Strictly review the legality of administrative normative documents and responses to information disclosure requests, strengthen oversight of energy administrative law enforcement actions, and share insights from handling typical cases to raise awareness and capabilities of energy professionals in law-based administration.