IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v181y2023ics0301421523003075.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effect of electricity market reform on energy efficiency in China

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Jiexin
  • Wang, Song

Abstract

Since 2015, China has embarked on a new round of reforms to further promote marketization of the power sector. The present study evaluates this reform by exploring its impact on energy efficiency in China using a novel integrated approach. First, to distinguish the heterogeneous impacts of the reform on energy production and consumption sectors, this study identifies energy efficiency into production efficiency and utilization efficiency based on the super-efficiency network slacks-based measure–data envelopment analysis (SBM–DEA) with an undesirable output. Thereafter, we identify the impact of the reform on energy production and utilization efficiencies by applying a multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) method. We find that the energy efficiency of most provinces of China is relatively low, and energy production efficiency is generally lower than energy utilization efficiency. Although energy efficiencies of most provinces show an upward trend after 2015, the efficiency gap across provinces has increased over time. Moreover, the market reform has no significant impact on energy production efficiency. However, the reform significantly improves energy utilization efficiency, and this effect is sustainable after the reform. The study findings extend our understanding of the effects of the reform and suggests that this reform introduces heterogeneity in the energy sector. This study also holds significant policy implications for furthering the power system reform and narrowing the energy efficiency gap across regions in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Jiexin & Wang, Song, 2023. "The effect of electricity market reform on energy efficiency in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:181:y:2023:i:c:s0301421523003075
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113722
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421523003075
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113722?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xu, Bo & Wang, Jiexin & Guo, Mengyuan & Lu, Jiayu & Li, Gehui & Han, Liang, 2021. "A hybrid demand response mechanism based on real-time incentive and real-time pricing," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    2. Liu, Xiao-Yan & Pollitt, Michael G. & Xie, Bai-Chen & Liu, Li-Qiu, 2019. "Does environmental heterogeneity affect the productive efficiency of grid utilities in China?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 333-344.
    3. Zhang, Vanessa Yanhua & Chen, Yongjun, 2011. "Vertical relationships in China’s electricity industry: The quest for competition?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 142-151.
    4. Thorsten Beck & Ross Levine & Alexey Levkov, 2010. "Big Bad Banks? The Winners and Losers from Bank Deregulation in the United States," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(5), pages 1637-1667, October.
    5. Zheng, Xuemei & Menezes, Flavio & Nepal, Rabindra, 2021. "In between the state and the market: An empirical assessment of the early achievements of China's 2015 electricity reform," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    6. Zhao, Xiaoli & Ma, Chunbo, 2013. "Deregulation, vertical unbundling and the performance of China's large coal-fired power plants," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 474-483.
    7. Hang Gao & Johannes Van Biesebroeck, 2014. "Effects of Deregulation and Vertical Unbundling on the Performance of China's Electricity Generation Sector," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(1), pages 41-76, March.
    8. Huijie Yan, 2015. "Provincial energy intensity in China: The role of urbanization," Post-Print hal-01457329, HAL.
    9. Charnes, A. & Cooper, W. W. & Rhodes, E., 1978. "Measuring the efficiency of decision making units," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 2(6), pages 429-444, November.
    10. Hao Chen & Chi Kong Chyong & Zhifu Mi & Yi-Ming Wei, 2020. "Reforming the Operation Mechanism of Chinese Electricity System: Benefits, Challenges and Possible Solutions," The Energy Journal, , vol. 41(2), pages 219-246, March.
    11. Jieting Yin & Qingyou Yan & Kaijie Lei & Tomas Baležentis & Dalia Streimikiene, 2019. "Economic and Efficiency Analysis of China Electricity Market Reform Using Computable General Equilibrium Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-22, January.
    12. Kira R. Fabrizio & Nancy L. Rose & Catherine D. Wolfram, 2007. "Do Markets Reduce Costs? Assessing the Impact of Regulatory Restructuring on US Electric Generation Efficiency," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(4), pages 1250-1277, September.
    13. Zeng, Ming & Yang, Yongqi & Wang, Lihua & Sun, Jinghui, 2016. "The power industry reform in China 2015: Policies, evaluations and solutions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 94-110.
    14. Michael G. Pollitt, 2020. "Reforming the Chinese Electricity Supply Sector," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-030-39462-2, March.
    15. Mohsin, Muhammad & Hanif, Imran & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad & Abbas, Qaiser & Iqbal, Wasim, 2021. "Nexus between energy efficiency and electricity reforms: A DEA-Based way forward for clean power development," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    16. Savona, Maria & Ciarli, Tommaso, 2019. "Structural Changes and Sustainability. A Selected Review of the Empirical Evidence," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 244-260.
    17. Christian Haas and Karol Kempa, 2018. "Directed Technical Change and Energy Intensity Dynamics: Structural Change vs. Energy Efficiency," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 4).
    18. Li, Ke & Lin, Boqiang, 2017. "An application of a double bootstrap to investigate the effects of technological progress on total-factor energy consumption performance in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 575-585.
    19. Lu, Yingying & Stegman, Alison & Cai, Yiyong, 2013. "Emissions intensity targeting: From China's 12th Five Year Plan to its Copenhagen commitment," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 1164-1177.
    20. Tran, Trung Hieu & Mao, Yong & Nathanail, Paul & Siebers, Peer-Olaf & Robinson, Darren, 2019. "Integrating slacks-based measure of efficiency and super-efficiency in data envelopment analysis," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 156-165.
    21. Guo, Xiaoying & Lu, Ching-Cheng & Lee, Jen-Hui & Chiu, Yung-Ho, 2017. "Applying the dynamic DEA model to evaluate the energy efficiency of OECD countries and China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 392-399.
    22. Amalavoyal Chari & Elaine M Liu & Shing-Yi Wang & Yongxiang Wang, 2021. "Property Rights, Land Misallocation, and Agricultural Efficiency in China [Misallocation, Selection and Productivity: A Quantitative Analysis with Panel Data from China]," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 88(4), pages 1831-1862.
    23. Tooraj Jamasb & Rabindra Nepal & Govinda R. Tmilsina, 2017. "A Quarter Century Effort Yet to Come of Age: A Survey of Electricity Sector Reform in Developing Countries," The Energy Journal, , vol. 38(3), pages 195-234, May.
    24. Ma, Chunbo & Zhao, Xiaoli, 2015. "China's electricity market restructuring and technology mandates: Plant-level evidence for changing operational efficiency," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 227-237.
    25. Jun-Fei Chu & Jie Wu & Ma-Lin Song, 2018. "An SBM-DEA model with parallel computing design for environmental efficiency evaluation in the big data context: a transportation system application," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 270(1), pages 105-124, November.
    26. Wang, Qiang & Chen, Xi, 2012. "China's electricity market-oriented reform: From an absolute to a relative monopoly," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 143-148.
    27. Song Wang & Jiexin Wang & Chenqi Wei & Xueli Wang & Fei Fan, 2021. "Collaborative innovation efficiency: From within cities to between cities—Empirical analysis based on innovative cities in China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(3), pages 1330-1360, September.
    28. Lin, Kun-Chin & Purra, Mika M., 2019. "Transforming China's electricity sector: Politics of institutional change and regulation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 401-410.
    29. Polemis, Michael L., 2017. "Capturing the impact of shocks on the electricity sector performance in the OECD," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 99-107.
    30. Lin, Boqiang & Du, Kerui, 2015. "Energy and CO2 emissions performance in China's regional economies: Do market-oriented reforms matter?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 113-124.
    31. Sheng, Pengfei & Guo, Xiaohui, 2018. "Energy consumption associated with urbanization in China: Efficient- and inefficient-use," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(PB), pages 118-125.
    32. Timilsina, Govinda R. & Pang, Jun & Yang, Xi, 2021. "Macroeconomic impacts of power sector reforms in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    33. Xie, Bai-Chen & Zhang, Zhen-Jiang & Anaya, Karim L., 2021. "Has the unbundling reform improved the service efficiency of China's power grid firms?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    34. Lo, Kevin & Wang, Mark Y., 2013. "Energy conservation in China’s Twelfth Five-Year Plan period: Continuation or paradigm shift?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 499-507.
    35. Michael R. Davidson and Ignacio Pérez-Arriaga, 2020. "Avoiding Pitfalls in China's Electricity Sector Reforms," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3), pages 119-142.
    36. Cui, Qiang & Li, Ye & Yu, Chen-lu & Wei, Yi-Ming, 2016. "Evaluating energy efficiency for airlines: An application of Virtual Frontier Dynamic Slacks Based Measure," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 1231-1240.
    37. Bashir, Muhammad Adnan & Sheng, Bin & Doğan, Buhari & Sarwar, Suleman & Shahzad, Umer, 2020. "Export product diversification and energy efficiency: Empirical evidence from OECD countries," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 232-243.
    38. Zhang, Yue-Jun & Sun, Ya-Fang & Huang, Junling, 2018. "Energy efficiency, carbon emission performance, and technology gaps: Evidence from CDM project investment," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 119-130.
    39. Yan, Huijie, 2015. "Provincial energy intensity in China: The role of urbanization," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 635-650.
    40. Yao, Xin & Huang, Ruting & Du, Kerui, 2019. "The impacts of market power on power grid efficiency: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 99-110.
    41. Zhang, Sufang & Andrews-Speed, Philip & Li, Sitao, 2018. "To what extent will China's ongoing electricity market reforms assist the integration of renewable energy?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 165-172.
    42. Zhang, Haonan & Zhang, Xingping & Yuan, Jiahai, 2020. "Transition of China's power sector consistent with Paris Agreement into 2050: Pathways and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    43. Wang, Feng & Sun, Xiaoyu & Reiner, David M. & Wu, Min, 2020. "Changing trends of the elasticity of China's carbon emission intensity to industry structure and energy efficiency," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    44. Xie, Bai-Chen & Gao, Jie & Zhang, Shuang & Pang, Rui-Zhi & Zhang, ZhongXiang, 2018. "The environmental efficiency analysis of China’s power generation sector based on game cross-efficiency approach," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 126-135.
    45. Mardani, Abbas & Zavadskas, Edmundas Kazimieras & Streimikiene, Dalia & Jusoh, Ahmad & Khoshnoudi, Masoumeh, 2017. "A comprehensive review of data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach in energy efficiency," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 1298-1322.
    46. Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki & Wang, Derek, 2017. "Measuring scale efficiency and returns to scale on large commercial rooftop photovoltaic systems in California," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 389-398.
    47. Tone, Kaoru, 2001. "A slacks-based measure of efficiency in data envelopment analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(3), pages 498-509, May.
    48. Jie Wu & Beibei Xiong & Qingxian An & Jiasen Sun & Huaqing Wu, 2017. "Total-factor energy efficiency evaluation of Chinese industry by using two-stage DEA model with shared inputs," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 255(1), pages 257-276, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ziyu Li & Bangjun Wang, 2024. "A Bibliometric Analysis of Carbon Allowances in the Carbon Emissions Trading Market," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-18, December.
    2. Cheng, Xiaobin & Liu, Pengfei & Zhu, Lei, 2024. "The impact of electricity market reform on renewable energy production," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    3. Azimi, Mohammad Naim & Rahman, Mohammad Mafizur & Maraseni, Tek, 2025. "Powering progress: The interplay of energy security and institutional quality in driving economic growth," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 378(PA).
    4. Li, Xueqin & Zheng, Zhuoji & Luo, Beier & Shi, Daqian & Han, Xianfeng, 2024. "The impact of electricity sales side reform on energy technology innovation: An analysis based on SCP paradigm," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Abbas Mardani & Dalia Streimikiene & Tomas Balezentis & Muhamad Zameri Mat Saman & Khalil Md Nor & Seyed Meysam Khoshnava, 2018. "Data Envelopment Analysis in Energy and Environmental Economics: An Overview of the State-of-the-Art and Recent Development Trends," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-21, August.
    2. Tao Xu & Jianxin You & Hui Li & Luning Shao, 2020. "Energy Efficiency Evaluation Based on Data Envelopment Analysis: A Literature Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-20, July.
    3. Liu, Yang & Jiang, Zhigao & Guo, Bowei, 2022. "Assessing China’s provincial electricity spot market pilot operations: Lessons from Guangdong province," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    4. Cao, Jing & Ho, Mun S. & Ma, Rong & Zhang, Yu, 2024. "Transition from plan to market: Imperfect regulations in the electricity sector of China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 509-533.
    5. Zhu, Qingyuan & Xu, Shuqi & Sun, Jiasen & Li, Xingchen & Zhou, Dequn, 2022. "Energy efficiency evaluation of power supply system: A data-driven approach based on shared resources," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 312(C).
    6. Cheng, Xiaobin & Liu, Pengfei & Zhu, Lei, 2024. "The impact of electricity market reform on renewable energy production," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    7. Chen, Hao & Cui, Jian & Song, Feng & Jiang, Zhigao, 2022. "Evaluating the impacts of reforming and integrating China's electricity sector," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    8. Michael Pollitt, 2021. "Measuring the Impact of Electricity Market Reform in a Chinese Context," Working Papers EPRG2111, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    9. Liang-Han Ma & Jin-Chi Hsieh & Yung-Ho Chiu, 2020. "Comparing regional differences in global energy performance," Energy & Environment, , vol. 31(6), pages 943-960, September.
    10. Haider, Salman & Danish, Mohd Shadab & Sharma, Ruchi, 2019. "Assessing energy efficiency of Indian paper industry and influencing factors: A slack-based firm-level analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 454-464.
    11. Sun, Kege & Wu, Libo, 2020. "Efficiency distortion of the power generation sector under the dual regulation of price and quantity in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    12. Nelson Amowine & Zhiqiang Ma & Mingxing Li & Zhixiang Zhou & Benjamin Azembila Asunka & James Amowine, 2019. "Energy Efficiency Improvement Assessment in Africa: An Integrated Dynamic DEA Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-17, October.
    13. Zheng, Xuemei & Menezes, Flavio & Nepal, Rabindra, 2021. "In between the state and the market: An empirical assessment of the early achievements of China's 2015 electricity reform," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    14. Xiaoke Zhao & Xuhui Ding & Liang Li, 2021. "Research on Environmental Regulation, Technological Innovation and Green Transformation of Manufacturing Industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-15, September.
    15. Liu, Xiaoqian & Wang, Chang'an & Wu, Haitao & Yang, Cunyi & Albitar, Khaldoon, 2023. "The impact of the new energy demonstration city construction on energy consumption intensity: Exploring the sustainable potential of China's firms," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    16. Xiangyu Teng & Danting Lu & Yung-ho Chiu, 2019. "Emission Reduction and Energy Performance Improvement with Different Regional Treatment Intensity in China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, January.
    17. Peng Wang & Meng Li, 2019. "Scenario Analysis in the Electric Power Industry under the Implementation of the Electricity Market Reform and a Carbon Policy in China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-26, June.
    18. Liu, Y. & Jiang, Z. & Guo, B., 2021. "Assessing China's Provincial Electricity Spot Market Pilot Operations: Lessons from the Guangdong Province," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2165, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    19. Chia-Nan Wang & Quoc-Chien Luu & Thi-Kim-Lien Nguyen & Jen-Der Day, 2019. "Assessing Bank Performance Using Dynamic SBM Model," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-13, January.
    20. Ying Li & Yung-ho Chiu & Tai-Yu Lin, 2019. "Energy and Environmental Efficiency in Different Chinese Regions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-26, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Electricity market reform; Energy efficiency decomposition; Network data envelopment analysis; Multi-period difference-in-differences;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C02 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - General - - - Mathematical Economics
    • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General
    • L94 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Electric Utilities
    • L98 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Government Policy
    • P21 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Planning, Coordination, and Reform

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:181:y:2023:i:c:s0301421523003075. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.