On December 7, a reporter learned from State Grid Sichuan Electric Power Company that as of the end of November, Sichuan's full-caliber hydropower outbound transmission volume this year had reached 132.8 billion kWh (including State Grid and regional grid dispatched units), up 7.2% year on year, and is expected to reach 138 billion kWh for the full year. Among this, Sichuan-origin outbound electricity reached 35.896 billion kWh, a net increase of 9.5 billion kWh over 2016 and a year-on-year increase of 35.79%. Both the full-caliber hydropower outbound transmission volume and the Sichuan-origin outbound transmission volume hit record highs.

According to estimates, the outbound transmission of 138 billion kWh of clean hydropower can bring economic value of more than 30 billion yuan to Sichuan, equivalent to saving more than 48 million tonnes of standard coal, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 128 million tonnes and sulfur dioxide by about 1.2 million tonnes, making a huge contribution to China's air pollution prevention and control, promotion of green development, and building of a Beautiful China.

It is understood that in recent years Sichuan's full-caliber hydropower outbound transmission volume (including State Grid and regional grid dispatched units) has repeatedly hit new highs: 111.6 billion kWh in 2014, 122.6 billion kWh in 2015, 128.8 billion kWh in 2016, and 138 billion kWh in 2017. Sichuan-origin outbound transmission volume has shown a trend of substantial year-on-year growth: 16.886 billion kWh in 2014, 21.274 billion kWh in 2015, 26.44 billion kWh in 2016, and 35.896 billion kWh in 2017.

A relevant person in charge of the Sichuan Power Exchange Center introduced that the reasons for Sichuan's outbound transmission volume hitting a new high again include the following aspects: First, innovation in the hydropower outbound transmission mechanism. In 2017, with strong support from State Grid Corporation of China, Beijing Power Exchange Center and relevant provinces, Sichuan hydropower outbound transmission formed a new "1525" pattern, namely using 10 major outbound transmission corridors, targeting 5 markets (East China, North China, Central China, Northwest China, and Chongqing), relying on 2-level platforms (Beijing + Sichuan), and implementing 5 measures (deepening strategic cooperation, promoting market pricing, enriching trading varieties, tapping corridor capacity, and improving cycle combinations), advancing continuous new highs in Sichuan hydropower outbound transmission. The Sichuan Power Exchange Center planned ahead and took the initiative, signing multi-year and annual contracts with Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shaanxi and the Central China region through various means such as strategic cooperation, resource mutual assistance and framework agreements, further stabilizing Sichuan hydropower's traditional outbound markets. Using the market price formation mechanism and "trading time for space," it achieved 7.5 billion kWh of outbound transmission during the normal-water period. Leveraging hydropower price advantages, it newly opened the Qinghai market, innovatively implemented bundled Sichuan-Chongqing power with Shaanxi mutual assistance, and explored Sichuan-Chongqing hydropower-thermal replacement trading and cross-provincial direct trading by large users in Henan Province. Through trading mechanism innovation, an additional 2.4 billion kWh of surplus hydropower was absorbed. It is worth emphasizing that State Grid Corporation of China and Beijing Power Exchange Center played an important role in optimizing resource allocation nationwide. Second, outbound transmission corridor capacity was enhanced. In June 2017, the third Sichuan-Chongqing power grid corridor was put into operation ahead of schedule, raising the transmission capacity of the Sichuan-Chongqing corridor to 5 million kW. This year, more than 20 billion kWh was transmitted via the Sichuan-Chongqing corridor, laying the physical foundation for the substantial growth of outbound transmission in 2017. Third, cross-basin coordinated optimization was carried out to expand hydropower absorption space. Reservoir power generation was arranged in advance, reservoir storage capacity was emptied before the flood season, differences in inflow timing among basins were captured, and the collection and transmission capacity of the 500 kV main grid and eight major hydropower outbound corridors was used well and flexibly to absorb as much hydropower as possible. Fourth, cross-temporal and spatial mutual assistance optimization was carried out to promote absorption of off-peak hydropower. Making full use of the interconnection advantages of the UHV large power grid, optimizing the dispatch coordination mechanism, and combining measures such as flexible adjustment of the electricity retained in Sichuan by State Grid dispatched units, while fully ensuring intra-provincial power supply, Sichuan's thermal power startup demand was reduced as much as possible to free up space for hydropower absorption.

It is understood that the Sichuan power grid is currently connected to the East China power grid through three major UHV DC lines, and its outbound market covers Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Anhui, which are the main absorption areas for Sichuan-origin outbound electricity. UHV continues to play the role of "main force" in hydropower outbound transmission.

At the same time, State Grid Sichuan Electric Power Company has earnestly implemented the principle of "using electricity where appropriate," accelerated the pace of coal-to-electricity, oil-to-electricity and gas-to-electricity conversion, and promoted the development and application of electric cold storage, electric boilers, electric hot pots and electric vehicles. This year, more than 4 billion kWh of alternative electricity has already been completed.