Yang Shixing, the chief engineer of the Chongqing Energy Administration, said that with the further construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, Sichuan and Chongqing would cooperatively build a clean, low-carbon, cost-effective, safe and reliable energy system, thus accelerating the Sichuan-Chongqing energy integration.
Status Quo: the imbalance between energy production and consumption demand
The total balance between the supply and demand for electricity and natural gas in Sichuan and Chongqing can be ascribed to a large amount of coal and refined oil coming from outside the two regions.
Chongqing's new electricity demand is expected to reach 25GW by 2035, and hence the introduction of electricity into Chongqing should be accelerated. "To guarantee the energy supply of the two regions, attempts should be made to transfer energy from a larger scale and a wider range of sources, with concerted efforts from Sichuan, Chongqing, and even the entire country," said Yang.
Electricity: building a demonstration zone for high-quality energy development
Yang said that Sichuan and Chongqing would scientifically plan the integrated development of the Sichuan-Chongqing power grid and power market. In addition to the planning and construction of the Sichuan-Chongqing UHV AC power grid, Sichuan will vigorously build the Chengdu power grid into the core. Chongqing, on the other hand, will strive to create a 500kV double-loop network around the main urban area. "Large-capacity and high-speed channels are used to tackle the inverse distribution of power supply and consumption."
Yang said that it is necessary to enhance the energy production and supply guarantee capabilities and improve the level of infrastructure connectivity of the two regions. It is also required to facilitate high-quality energy resources, such as hydropower and natural gas, to give priority to local consumption before the outward transfer, to build the Sichuan-Chongqing demonstration zone for high-quality energy development.
Natural Gas: Building a base valuing over 100 billion yuan
Experts in the energy industry said that thousands of companies in Sichuan and Chongqing had applied natural gas to varying degrees. Notably, Chongqing, one of the cities with the most extensive range of gas use, the most significant number of users, and the highest proportion of industrial gas in the country, offers advantaged conditions to build a base valuing over 100 billion yuan.
"To give full play to our advantages in natural gas resources, it is also of necessity to enhance the connectivity of pipeline network," Yang added.
Regarding refined oil, the two sides will plan to build a strategic storage and transportation base of China National Aviation Fuel Group in southwest China to improve the storage and pipeline transportation capacity of refined oil.
Mechanism exploration: the key lies in coordinating overall energy reform
The person in charge of the Chongqing Energy Administration emphasized that the key to furthering Sichuan-Chongqing energy integration lies in how to establish, at the national level, a cross-departmental coordination mechanism that coordinates the comprehensive energy reform experiments in Sichuan and Chongqing.
An expert in the field of oil and gas in Chongqing highlighted that efforts should be made to support the reform of mixed ownership in gas field development, pipeline transportation, and gas storage and peak-shaving in Sichuan and Chongqing.
The energy-related authorities in Sichuan and Chongqing are also planning to boost the sharing and mutual guarantee of emergency reserves of refineries and refined oil, as well as establish and improve the communication and linkage mechanism of coal storage and transportation, and the linkage mechanism of energy emergency supply guarantee.
The person in charge of the Chongqing Energy Administration said that the two regions are expected to jointly build a demonstration zone of high-quality energy development through establishing a multi-level and multi-energy-variety energy coordination system, in a bid to provide strong energy support for the high-quality development of Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle.