Analyzing Information Disclosure in the Chinese Electricity Market

Abstract

Electricity generation relies heavily on fossil fuels in China, and this has posed great challenges for sustainable development. In 2015, China launched a new series of power reforms, aimed primarily at sustainable development and building a competitive power market system, where an information disclosure system plays an important role. This paper analyzes the effects of sensitive information disclosure, constructs different information disclosure scenarios, and compares the market clearing results under different scenarios. The results show that information transparency is conducive to the promotion of market efficiency. However, some problems, especially collusion, arise and inevitably bring negative impacts to the power market. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the content and quality of data transparency to avoid manipulations in the market. The data of power systems are complex and various, and thus big data applications may be conducive to effective information disclosure and better market regulation. Moreover, disclosure delay will help the electricity market become more transparent by reducing the risk of collusion. Besides, the information’s scope and contents, timing should also be taken into consideration. These findings may provide some references for the sustainable development of the electricity industry and have certain policy implications for policymakers.