[SMM Hydrogen Energy Policy Update] National Energy Administration: Q4 Press Conference Held

On October 31, 2025, the National Energy Administration held a Q4 press conference to introduce measures for studying and implementing the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Party, the national energy situation in the first three quarters, renewable energy grid connection and operation, the construction of EV charging facilities, and the role of market mechanisms in ensuring supply, among other topics, while also addressing hot topics. The meeting was chaired by Zhang Xing, Deputy Director General of the General Department, with relevant officials from the Development and Planning Department, the Electricity Department, and the Market Regulation Department in attendance.

The energy situation in the first three quarters exhibited four main characteristics: first, Strong Supply Support During Summer Peak Demand, with the national maximum electricity load hitting new highs four times, and production of raw coal, crude oil, and natural gas up 2%, 1.7%, and 6.4% YoY, respectively; second, Orderly Industry Development, with the spot price for 5,500 kcal thermal coal rebounding to 704 yuan/mt in late September, and prices for some wind power and PV products recovering; third, Sustained Growth in Energy Consumption, with the tertiary industry and residential electricity consumption contributing 54.5%, and weak coal consumption driven by growth in clean energy power generation; fourth, Intensive Policy Efforts, with the introduction of specialized policies such as AI + energy, scaling up new-type energy storage, and the "tripling in three years" plan for charging facilities.

Renewable energy development achieved significant results.New installations in the first three quarters reached 310 million kW, up 47.7% YoY, accounting for 84.4% of total new installations; as of the end of September, total installed capacity reached 2.198 billion kW, representing 59.1% of total power capacity, comprising 582 million kW of wind power and 1.127 billion kW of solar power. In terms of power generation, renewable energy generation was 2.89 trillion kWh, up 15.5% YoY, accounting for 40% of total generation; combined wind and solar power generation was 1.73 trillion kWh, up 28.3% YoY, representing 22% of electricity consumption and exceeding the incremental growth in total electricity consumption.

Charging facility construction advanced rapidly.As of the end of September, the total number of charging points reached 18.063 million, up 54.5% YoY, with public charging total power reaching 200 million kW; the "tripling in three years" action plan was introduced, aiming to build 28 million charging facilities by the end of 2027; large power charging facilities exceeded 37,000 units, with 17 provinces conducting vehicle-grid interaction pilots, aggregating resources of 19.43 million kW.

Market mechanisms contributed significantly to supply assurance.In the first three quarters, electricity market transaction volume was 4.92 trillion kWh, accounting for 63.4% of total electricity consumption, with over 1.02 million market entities. During the summer peak period, inter-provincial and inter-regional markets achieved regular transactions, with Fujian-Guangdong interconnection power transmission up 85% YoY, and Xinjiang's PV power matching cross-regional supply and demand; the spot market's "high price during peak hours" incentivized power plants to maintain stable and full output, with unit forced outage rates in Shandong and Guangdong during high load periods hitting record lows; on the demand side, 450 industrial users contributed nearly 10% to peak shaving and valley filling, and Shanghai's virtual power plant achieved a maximum peak shaving of 1.16 million kW.

Regarding hot topics, the responsible person responded : "Negative electricity prices" serve as a market "signal light," incentivizing deep regulation of generating units and the construction of ESS, and with the low proportion of spot transactions, combined with factors such as medium and long-term contracts, the impact on power plant revenues is limited; the total installed capacity of wind and solar power is targeted to reach 3.6 billion kW by 2035, and during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period , this will be achieved by expanding new energy supply (desert-gobi-barren land bases, offshore wind power), promoting integration with computing power and green hydrogen, expanding non-electric utilization such as hydrogen, ammonia, and alcohol production from wind and solar power, and improving the green electricity certificate trading mechanism; energy investment reached 1.97 trillion yuan in the first eight months, up 18.2% YoY, with nuclear power, the power grid, new-type energy storage, and coal-fired power as the main drivers, and new-type energy storage investment growth rates exceeded 100% in multiple regions including Xinjiang and Guangdong.

Preparations for ensuring supply during the winter peak demand period have been deployed in advance : on the power side, fuel supply, power grid mutual support, and emergency management have been strengthened; the foundation for coal supply is solid, with power plant coal inventories of 220 million mt sufficient for 35 days; natural gas supply and demand are stable, with underground gas storage facilities entering winter at full capacity, and multiple gas sources ensuring critical peak demand.