Anhui's power spot market has entered formal operation, marking the full completion of the province's electricity market system, State Grid's newspaper reported.

The market began its first simulated trial run in March 2022. Since then, six versions of market rules have been released, with trial runs covering single-day, three-day, two full-week and two monthly spot settlement periods. A continuous settlement trial run of 617 days was launched at the end of 2024.

During the trial period, the market was tested under multiple scenarios including summer and winter peak loads, high renewable output and major holidays. The market operated safely and smoothly, with clearing prices reflecting the province's actual power supply and demand conditions, effectively performing the market's price discovery function.

Spot market price signals have incentivized thermal power plants to generate during peak hours, guided grid investment, encouraged load shifting and activated the two-way regulation capability of energy storage. This has improved grid supply security and renewable energy consumption across generation, grid, load and storage.

State Grid Anhui Electric Power Co., Ltd. has prioritized the construction of the power spot market under the leadership of relevant government departments. The company established a "1+5" spot market rule system covering all market processes, adopted a technical support system featuring "AB dual-active systems plus testing system", and set up a dual framework of emergency plans and standardized disposal procedures with regular drills.

The transition to formal operation is a milestone in power market construction. State Grid Anhui Electric Power will consolidate operational results, deepen mechanism innovation, expand diverse market participants and strengthen risk prevention to help build a unified national electricity market.