After the supervision and improvement of the market-oriented mechanism of coal and electricity prices, on February 25, the coal and electricity sectors staged a “double day of ice and fire”.
On February 25, the main contract of thermal coal closed at 745 yuan / ton, down 75.2 yuan / ton or 9.17% from the previous trading day.
Many coal stocks in the A-share market also closed lower on February 25. Yankuang energy (600188. SH) closed at 30.72 yuan / share, down 1.54%; China Shenhua Energy Company Limited(601088) (601088. SH) closed at 24.57 yuan / share, down 3.65%; China Coal Energy Company Limited(601898) (601088. SH) closed at 6.66 yuan / share, down 4.17%; Shaanxi Coal Industry Company Limited(601225) (601225. SH) closed at 14.09 yuan / share, down 4.28%.
While power coal futures and coal stocks fell, the power sector rose rapidly in the afternoon of February 25, and many stocks such as Huaneng Power (600011. SH), Longyuan Power (001289. SZ), Huadian Power International Corporation Limited(600027) (600027. SH) rose.
Behind the “double heaven of ice and fire” in the coal and power sectors is the launch of a new mechanism for coal and power prices.
On February 24, the national development and Reform Commission issued the notice on further improving the coal market price formation mechanism to guide the coal price to return to a reasonable range and improve the price transmission mechanism of coal and electricity.
The notice proposes to guide coal and electricity prices mainly through medium and long-term transactions. When the medium and long-term transaction price of coal operates within a reasonable range, coal-fired power generation enterprises can fully transmit the change of fuel cost through market-oriented means under the current mechanism, and encourage the reasonable setting of terms linking the on grid price and the medium and long-term transaction price of coal in the medium and long-term transaction contract of electric power, so as to effectively realize the transmission of coal and electricity prices.
At the press conference on February 24, Wan Jinsong, director of the price department of the national development and Reform Commission, said that at present, coal-fired power generation implements the market-oriented electricity price mechanism of “benchmark price + fluctuation of no more than 20%”. This time, we improved the coal market price formation mechanism, connected with the coal-fired power generation price mechanism, and realized “interval to interval”, “this time, we made it clear that the coal and power prices can be effectively transmitted within a reasonable range, and the coal-fired power generation enterprises can timely and reasonably transmit the changes of fuel costs within the range of no more than 20% of the benchmark price”.
Peng shaozong, deputy director of the price department of the national development and Reform Commission and first-class inspector, further said that the improvement of the mechanism this time is to focus on solving the problem of “coal and electricity topping the bull”, promote the coordinated development of coal and electricity upstream and downstream, and realize the “three price linkage” of coal price, on grid price and user price through market-oriented means, so as to fundamentally straighten out the price relationship between coal and electricity.
Several institutions put forward suggestions on the improvement of the above coal and electricity price mechanism, which will help guide the reasonable and stable operation of prices.
Citic Securities Company Limited(600030) proposed in the Research Report on February 25 that although the new coal price formation mechanism of the national development and Reform Commission restricts the room for the rise of power coal price, it helps to stabilize the long-term price expectation of power coal and reflect the long-term value attribute of power coal leading companies. At present, non electricity coal prices are stable and positive, overseas energy prices have risen sharply, real estate policies are relaxed and other factors are still the catalyst for the sector rebound.
China International Capital Corporation Limited(601995) also expressed the view that the notice is expected to guide the return of coal prices to rationality, alleviate the cost pressure of downstream enterprises, promote the stable operation of the economy, strengthen the ability to adjust coal supply and demand and improve the price mechanism.
