Overview
The National Development and Reform Commission released the Exposure Draft of the Basic Rules for the Electricity Spot Market, proposing that renewables and their on-site co-located storage may participate as a joint bidding entity in spot-market declaration, clearing, dispatch, settlement and assessment. Storage built merely to satisfy grid-connection rules may finally gain a market-based revenue channel.
Earlier, Document 136 removed mandatory storage mandates and Document 114 established capacity prices for independent storage. The joint-bidding mechanism now completes the spot-monetization link, clarifying a triple-revenue framework of energy + capacity + ancillary services.
Background & Interpretation
1. Industry and Policy Context
Under mandatory storage, batteries were a grid-connection precondition with no market outlet; some developers chased low-cost compliance and built without using. Document 136 detached storage from connection rules; Document 114 recognized storage’s capacity value nationally. Together, revenue shifts from single policy compensation to multi-channel stacking.
2. Core Drivers and Mechanism
Joint bidding binds generation and storage: a station charges when prices are low and discharges when high, earning peak-valley spreads and capacity revenue while smoothing renewable output. The core is turning storage from a cost line into a profit regulator.
3. Market Structure and Impact
From allowed to bid to able to profit still needs rules on capacity conversion, loss allocation and accountability. Smaller stations lacking trading talent can join via virtual power plants or retailers. CNESA chair Chen Haisheng expects storage to move from rapid growth to high-quality development in the 15th Five-Year Plan, shifting from scale to technology and refined operations.
Implications & Outlook
Short term, the draft signals supportive intent for the storage-operations side. Medium term, firms with accurate forecasting, bidding strategy and deviation management will lead. Watch: provincial spot-market progress, detailed joint-bidding rules, and revenue divergence between independent and co-located storage.
Takeaways for Industry Participants
Renewable developers should reposition storage from compliance cost to revenue asset and build trading capabilities; storage vendors must improve performance and dispatchability; smaller stations can leverage aggregation models to lower barriers.
This column compiles industry information and shares technical perspectives; it does not constitute investment advice.