Peak electricity demand during summer heatwaves? Hunan’s chemical companies may face an additional charge of 10 yuan per kilowatt-hour for electricity use beyond the contracted amount
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The \"Market Transaction Plan for High-Energy-Consuming Enterprises in Hunan Province to Cope with the Peak Summer Period\" specifies that no assessment will be carried out for any reduction in electricity consumption that is covered by pre-month contracts, or for reductions within 10% of the amount specified in monthly contracts； For a reduction in electricity consumption of more than 10% within a month under a contract, a penalty of 10% of the price difference for transactions during that month shall be applied. The pre-month and in-month transaction contracts for high-energy-consuming enterprises are all handled by the power sales company, which is responsible for their settlement. At settlement, the hourly contracted electricity volume is divided into separate amounts for different time periods; the monthly contracted price difference is calculated based on the average price difference from the previous month (excluding any transfers within that month). Power sales companies can charge an agency service fee of 1.5 yuan/MWh to 2.5 yuan/MWh based on the actual electricity consumption of the customers they represent. In the settlement calculations carried out by power sales companies, the retail price difference for high-energy-consuming enterprises is calculated based on the average price difference specified in their monthly contracts (excluding transfers within that month) plus the cost of agency services. The electricity costs resulting from overuse or underuse under the monthly contracts are not included in the retail price difference charged by the power sales company. When the electricity sales company fails to submit the agency service price as required, the agency service fee is set at 1.5 yuan per megawatt-hour.
The summer solstice has arrived, bringing high temperatures; getting through the peak summer period once again has become a major concern, and chemical companies are once more faced with severe challenges. The \"Market Trading Plan for High-Energy-Consuming Enterprises in Hunan Province to Cope with the Peak Summer Period\" stipulates that the implementation months for such market transactions are tentatively set as July, August, and September 2022. The Plan specifies that for high-energy-consuming enterprises, the range for reporting market transaction price differences is as follows: for monthly base-load transactions, it ranges from -90 yuan per megawatt hour to 90 yuan per megawatt hour; for intra-month competitive bidding transactions, the minimum price is 90 yuan per megawatt hour, with no upper limit set. For electricity consumption exceeding the contracted amount, during periods when the power dispatch agency predicts no supply shortage, the settlement price difference is determined in accordance with the relevant provisions of the medium- to long-term trading rules ； During periods predicted to have a power supply shortage, punitive electricity prices are applied, and the settlement price is calculated as the transaction price difference for that month plus the agency service fee plus 10 yuan per kilowatt-hour. According to relevant sources, the introduction of these new regulations is closely related to the local shortage of coal supply and rising coal prices, which increase the costs for power generation companies; it is also linked to the need to strictly control electricity consumption by industrial enterprises in order to ensure sufficient power supply for household use. This has a significant impact on energy-intensive enterprises that purchase large amounts of electricity from the power grid, such as refining and chemical companies. It’s relatively better to have a own power plant, but with coal prices continuing to rise, their costs for generating electricity and using it will still increase significantly. How to draw power from the grid in a scientific, economical, and precise manner in accordance with policy guidelines is a challenge that energy-intensive enterprises need to address carefully.
Is this considered an abusive clause by a monopolistic company?: