Influence of On-Grid Tariff Policy on the Coal Consumption of Power Generation Enterprises

Through comparison of the pricing methods for on-grid tariff in China over the years, this paper provided the calculating formula which was a measurement of the effort extent of power generation enterprises reducing coal consumption. Then the paper collected the statistic data of net coal consumption and power consumption rate from 1978-2008 to assess the varying trend, illustrating the active effort of different pricing mechanisms on enterprises´ coal consumption control. Especially since operation period tariff policy in 1998 and benchmark tariff policy in 2004, the net coal consumption dropped fast, showing greater effectiveness of the advance-pricing mechanism. The paper took partial provinces´ data in 2008 as samples to quick cluster to obtain the spatial variation of the coal consumption control of power generation enterprises. The result suggested that the same pricing mechanism affected the reduction of net coal consumption in varying degrees in different regions but related to local electricity demand and price level etc.