What are the Problems with Rural Electricity? Introduction to Rural Electricity Management

Rural electricity refers to the electricity needed for rural economic development, agricultural production and farmers' lives.

1. Development of rural electricity

1.1 Organization and management system of rural electric power

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, my country's agricultural power system has experienced a process from a high degree of monopoly to a gradual opening. In the era of planned economy, my country followed the centralized and unified power industry management system of the former Soviet Union that was completely monopolized by the central government, and rural power, as an integral part of the power industry, was also completely organized and managed in accordance with it. The organization and management structure of rural power enterprises across the country generally has the following modes with similarities and minor differences: First, direct supply and direct management of counties, and the provincial power companies under the State Power Corporation and the power bureaus of various cities conduct industrial management of rural power work. The rural power stations of each county (city, district) are administrative institutions of the county (city, district) government, with independent accounting and self-responsibility for profits and losses. The second is Xiashang County, where the rural power organization management system is basically the same as that of direct supply and direct management counties. The difference is that the Municipal Electric Power Bureau and the County Power Supply Bureau are jointly operated or managed, unlike the direct supply and direct management of the county, which is directly under the jurisdiction. The third is to spontaneously sell counties, which are vertically managed by the hydropower system. The organizational model is similar to the direct supply and direct management of counties, except that the power supply bureau or power management office is replaced by the hydropower bureau or local power bureau. The fourth is a mixed mode in which the three modes of soil coexist in a county.

1.2 Rural power investment management system

Before 1998, there was no scientific planning for rural power, which led to the diversification of standards for rural power assets. Rural electricity consumption implements the policy of "whoever uses electricity, who builds it, who benefits', and who protects it", that is, the construction of power transmission, transformation, and distribution facilities of 110 kV and below, the state does not invest, and the power sector does not have this aspect All construction costs are borne by rural consumers. Among them, the power grid below the rural comprehensive substation is completely built by the village collectives or farmers who use electricity. The power assets above the comprehensive substation are mainly built with the power supply and distribution subsidies collected from rural power users. In 1998, in order to speed up the construction of rural electrification, the state implemented the work of "two reforms and one price". Completely change the original investment management system, change the construction of rural power grids entirely funded by rural consumers into full state loans, and provincial power companies undertake loans to invest in construction, and the loan repayment funds are digested from the electricity price. The state decided to invest 180 billion yuan (actually 288.5 billion yuan) of preferential loans to support rural power grids starting in 1998. The specific mode of operation is that the state arranges the loan of national debt funds to the Agricultural Bank of China, and the provincial power companies are responsible for the special purpose of the loan from the Agricultural Bank of China, and carry out unified planning, unified design, and unified construction of the rural power grids in each province. After the end of the project, the provincial electric power company will be responsible for repaying the capital and interest, which will solve the immediate urgent need.

1.3 Regulatory system of rural electricity

For a long time, the country has a special investment management system for rural power, and the property rights and management rights of power under the comprehensive transformation of rural areas belong to the village collectives that funded the construction. The power assets above the comprehensive substation are mainly built with the power supply and distribution subsidies collected from rural power users, and the property rights and exercise of operation and management rights belong to the power supply bureau or the rural power station attached to the power supply bureau, and the rural power station is the local government In fact, the Rural Power Corporation does not undertake any substantive funding responsibilities for the entire rural power construction. Therefore, the person responsible for the real capital contribution has no property rights, resulting in the absence of an owner who truly represents rural power assets. As macro-control departments and dispatched agencies, various departments mostly appear as administrators, and it is not clear which department is responsible for managing agricultural power assets.

2. Existing problems of rural electricity

2.1 Administrative management

Due to the influence of the planning system, rural power enterprises have always been affiliated agencies of the state administrative organs. In order to adapt to the government's planned management of enterprises, rural power enterprises correspond to the government administrative departments in terms of organizational structure, department setting, and staffing. Since agricultural power enterprises are capital-intensive and technology-intensive industries, and are the basic industries of our country, they are not only related to the development of rural economy, but also affect the long-term stability of the country. Therefore, the government strictly controls the production, sales and distribution of agricultural power enterprises. Rural electricity enterprises do not have the right to operate independently, and there are all the problems and drawbacks such as the low efficiency of state-owned enterprises under the planned economic system.

2.2 Monopoly Closed Operation

Rural electricity enterprises have been regarded as natural monopoly enterprises in my country. The main basis is: the rural power network is inseparable, and there can only be one network in a region. The rural power grid has economies of scope, that is, in a region, all services are provided by one department. Cheapest l Rural power grids are more economical of scale. Only one network in a region can achieve economies of scale: Rural power companies invest heavily, and their investment deposits form barriers, making it difficult for other departments to enter. Due to the importance of agricultural power enterprises, the state has made rigid regulations on the production, supply and marketing of electric energy, and other investors are not allowed to enter the interior of agricultural power enterprises. Agricultural power enterprises have always been exclusive, so they can enjoy monopoly benefits. In addition, in order to alleviate the employment pressure of the society, arrange employment for the children of employees, and solve the worries of employees, the agricultural power enterprises set up tertiary production enterprises attached to agricultural power, so that the agricultural power business has been involved in power grid planning, design, construction, product manufacturing, maintenance, power grid scheduling, operation, The multi-integrated operation and management of sales and distribution have implemented a closed operation for the industry.

2.3 There is no stable source of investment in rural power

For a long time, the country has implemented the principles of "heavy power generation, light supply, and no use" and "whoever invests, who benefits, and who manages" in the investment system of the power industry, as the most terminal rural power "used" in the power system , has been, the state does not invest in it. In other words, there is no stable source of funds for the development of rural power grids. Two-thirds of the two fees collected in the rural electricity price are used for power supply construction, and the remaining less than one-third is not enough to purchase maintenance equipment, let alone transformation and development. However, due to various reasons, there is still a large gap in funds for the construction and renovation of rural power grids, and as the link of the rural power market, the power grid needs to be continuously updated and transformed with the development of the economy and the improvement of rural living standards. If it is not implemented, it will not fundamentally solve the problem of stable funding sources for rural power grids.

2.4 Multi-headed management, multiple political parties

The diversified management system of rural power leads to the diversity of stakeholders in rural power. The investment entities and management of rural power facilities are not unified, and everyone feels that it is a big piece of fat. Layers of intervention, everyone squeezes in, resulting in overlapping management agencies and multiple policies. Therefore, anyone can manage rural electricity supervision and management, and no one is obligated to manage it. When there are benefits and benefits, local party committees, governments, power supply bureaus, and rural power stations compete to manage them; when specific problems need to be solved, and when responsibility needs to be picked, no one asks, lest they avoid it.

2.5 Rural electricity price management system is chaotic

Before the implementation of the "two reforms and the same price", governments at all levels charged fees for rides. In addition, power theft in rural areas was prevalent. Generally, the stolen electricity accounted for about 50% of the total electricity, and some as high as 30%. However, the power consumption of a single household in rural areas is small, the distribution is wide, and the line loss is very high, all of which lead to extremely high electricity prices in rural areas. Rural electricity fee recovery adopts a village-based charging model, which is essentially a charging behavior, but in practice, it will inevitably lead to power loss in low-voltage power grids. When this process is in the hands of a few people, it will inevitably form an intermediate exploitation link. The phenomena of "favorite electricity, relationship electricity, and power electricity" and "indiscriminate price increases, arbitrary apportionments, and arbitrary fees" are serious.

2.6 The formation mechanism of rural electricity prices is out of touch with the supply and demand of the electricity market

The rural electricity price formation mechanism is the core mechanism of the electricity market economy, and our current agricultural electricity price has gone through a long process from the planned economy to the market economy. Now the mechanism has changed and the system has undergone changes, but the price system has not kept up with it, and the formation mechanism of electricity price, which is the main lever for market allocation of resources, is unreasonable. At present, the sales price of electric power enterprises is based on the government's instructions, which lacks the necessary flexibility, cannot reflect changes in market supply and demand, and cannot correctly guide capital investment.

3. Management countermeasures of rural electric power

3.1 Reform the rural electricity system

3.1.1 The current rural power system reform focuses on the reform of rural power management system in townships. In the process of merging township electricity management stations into power supply stations, organizations should be set up according to the principle of unification of affairs, powers, and responsibilities and the requirements of reducing management costs: control the total number of employees according to the ratio of sales revenue to variable costs; adjust the structure of human resources and Use personnel to effectively control labor costs; prevent asset loss during asset and financial liquidation and transfer.

3.1.2 The same grid and price for urban and rural electricity is both the starting point and the end point of this major reform. The same price between urban and rural areas is not simply a combination of the existing rural electricity price and urban electricity price, but the same price on the basis of effectively reducing costs through the "two reforms". Therefore, we must conscientiously do a good job in the reform of the rural power system and the transformation of the rural power grid, adjust the asset structure and employment structure, and effectively reduce the constant and variable costs on the basis of the gradual increase in the growth rate of power supply, and accurately measure sales revenue, Various operating indicators such as cost and profit were actively piloted and implemented prudently.

3.1.3 To reform the rural power management system, we must first change the current rural power management organization structure. It is necessary to completely change the current system in which rural power supply enterprises, township power management stations, village committees or village electricians manage electricity in summer sales and increase prices layer by layer, and clearly establish rural power supply providers with independent legal person status to be responsible for rural electricity supply. Planning, construction and operation, secondly, increase the intensity of rural power grid and transformation, 4 power grid layout, improve technological content, reduce line loss, and provide users with low-cost electricity and high-quality electric energy; thirdly, change the current electricity price formation mechanism , to improve the electricity price structure. The fourth is to establish a rural power marketing system that is compatible with the market economy. In terms of rural power marketing management, fully implement the "five unifications", "three openness" and "four households", act according to market rules, and put an end to "human power, rights and interests". Electricity, relational electricity.

3.2 Eliminate counties without electricity and people without electricity to achieve breakthroughs in universal service of electricity

Making electricity accessible and affordable to all is the most basic requirement for universal electric power services, and it is also one of the basic goals of the reform of the rural electric power system. For the current counties without electricity in my country, the population without electricity is concentrated in guarding abundant small hydropower resources. , but there is no actual use of electricity, vigorously develop small hydropower resources, and use small hydropower to have the characteristics of scattered distribution, local development, nearby grid formation, and integrated power supply, making small hydropower a natural and beneficial supplement to large power grids to solve the problem. local energy issues. At present, my country's small hydropower resources are mainly distributed in old, small, border, and poor areas. These areas are sparsely populated and have scattered loads. It is difficult for large power grids to cover them, and they are not suitable for long-distance transmission and power supply by large power grids. Therefore, for remote mountainous areas with small hydropower resources, it is necessary to increase national investment, establish small hydropower self-supply areas, and eliminate counties and populations without electricity, so as to realize multiple benefits of power consumption and environmental protection in remote mountainous areas. At the same time, it is necessary to encourage large power grid agricultural power companies to acquire and merge small hydropower self-supply areas, attract rural power investment through multiple channels, build and transform rural power grids in small hydropower self-supply areas, and further improve the reliability and voltage of power supply in small hydropower self-supply areas Pass rate.

3.3 Establish a modern enterprise system and implement the separation of primary and secondary

Actively promote the reform of the property rights system of various agricultural power enterprises. According to the modern enterprise system, build a property right form in which ownership and management rights are separated and mutually restricted, and change the traditional management mode of agricultural power multi-business enterprises. Clarify the investment subject and the operating subject, and adopt a flexible approach to gradually exit the state-owned assets within the agricultural power multi-business enterprise. Widen channels to attract and organize more social capital and natural person capital to enhance the development strength of enterprises, and construct a mixed ownership structure with clear ownership, multiple property rights, and coexistence of multiple ownership systems. In this way, the old administrative management system in which a variety of industries are appendages and subordinate units of agricultural power enterprises is changed, and new capital ties are established layer by layer. Through the shareholder meeting, the board of directors, the board of supervisors and other organizations to exercise supervision and management rights, replace the industry management of loose functional departments, establish a variety of industry management systems that meet the requirements of market rules, and finally realize the split between various industries and the main business. Separation of accounts, personnel diversion, separation of assets, separation of management, diversification of property rights, marketization of operations, and scientific management.

3.4 Establish a new rural power management system and realize universal power service

We must be fully psychologically prepared to gradually build a strong rural power grid after a relatively long period of development under a diversified management system, and to take advantage of the country's urbanization development path, seize opportunities, and vigorously develop and improve In the rural electricity market, narrow the gap in electricity consumption between urban and rural areas, constantly explore new rural electricity management models that adapt to rural economic development, gradually establish a new rural electricity management system, and fully realize the universal service of electricity.