Under the traditional power industry management system, the state strictly controls the electricity price, and the government uniformly manages the electricity price and strictly examines the electricity price. Under such hard control, the fluctuation of electricity price is very small, and there are almost no independent power generation, transmission and distribution enterprises, so there is no risk brought by electricity price fluctuation. However, with the reform of the power system in the direction of marketization, the wholesale electricity price and retail electricity price in the power market will be gradually liberalized. Electricity price is determined by market bidding, which will inevitably lead to market price fluctuation. For example, the real-time electricity price in a day when the load is at the peak can be several times different from that in a day when the load is at the trough, and sometimes even the trough electricity price can be zero or negative, while the electricity price in different days and months is even more different. In this way, the drastic fluctuation of electricity price will make the participants in the electricity market face huge price risk. Facts have proved that once there is a big price risk in the electricity market, its seriousness is no less than some very famous financial risk events in the international financial industry.
2. Conducive to the healthy and stable development of the power market.
Price is the most important means of resource allocation. Under the condition of planned economy, the price signal is distorted and the optimal allocation of resources cannot be realized. After entering the market economy, a single spot market cannot be realized; Only by combining the futures market with the spot market can we fully realize the optimal allocation of resources. There is no expected price in the futures market, and the government can only carry out macro-control according to the spot price. The lack of scientific planning ability in power development leads to surplus in the Ninth Five-Year Plan, power shortage in the Tenth Five-Year Plan and possible surplus in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan. China Electric Power will inevitably wander in the vicious circle of "power shortage, surplus projects, reduced investment and power shortage", resulting in a huge waste of social resources. The prices generated in the futures market are real, advanced and authoritative. Based on this, the government can determine and adjust macroeconomic policies and guide enterprises to adjust the scale and direction of production and operation to meet the needs of national macroeconomic development. (two) the feasibility of developing power futures trading (that is, power commodity futures).
Power commodity itself has most characteristics of futures commodity:
(1) power commodity classification: according to the different uses of power and the quality difference of power itself, scientifically distinguish electric energy from electricity price, which provides a prerequisite for power commodity futures trading.
(2) Convenient transshipment: With the improvement of large power grid and trans-regional dispatching mechanism, the transshipment and delivery of power commodities will become more and more convenient.
(3) Frequent price fluctuations: With the development of the country, the further prosperity of the trading participants and the power market, the range and frequency of price changes of power commodities will be further intensified.
(4) The transaction scale is large and there are many traders. The function of the futures market is based on the extensive participation of both the supply and demand sides of commodities. Only goods with large spot supply and demand can fully compete in a wide range and form authoritative prices.
Therefore, power commodities have a solid foundation for futures trading.
At the same time, we should also see that power commodities have two different characteristics from most other commodities traded in futures: first, power commodities are not suitable for storage; Second, the production of futures commodities needs a cycle, in which they are consumed at the same time, and production and delivery or consumption are synchronized. Therefore, these differences should be taken into account when designing futures contracts.