SAMR Issues Draft Notice on Optimizing Environmental Protection Electricity Price Supervision

36Kr learned from the National Administration for Market Regulation that, to advance pollution emission reductions in coal-fired power generation, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of coal-fired power enterprises, and build a collaborative and efficient environmental protection electricity price supervision mechanism, the SAMR has drafted the 'Notice on Matters Concerning the Optimization of Environmental Protection Electricity Price Supervision (Draft for Comments)' and is soliciting public opinions. The draft proposes optimizing the classified supervision model by uniformly including the grid-connected power generation portions of public and self-owned coal-fired units within the supervision scope. For units with hourly average pollutant emissions exceeding standards, the power grid enterprise will directly deduct the corresponding environmental protection electricity price amount during the settlement period from the electricity bill. In cases where pollution control facilities are stopped without valid reasons or pollutant emissions exceed standards by 100% or more, administrative penalties will be imposed in accordance with the law by the market regulation department. It is also clarified that exceeding standards due to objective reasons such as unit start-up/shutdown, low-load operation, or monitoring equipment failure will not be deemed price violations; only the corresponding environmental protection electricity price amount for that period will be deducted.