Coal prices coalesce, coal power companies entangled

In the previous few days, the State Council issued guidance on deepening the market-oriented reform of thermal coal, and announced that it has eliminated the dual-track system for coal prices since 2013 and implemented coal-electricity linkage and market-oriented transportation reforms. However, as the two major players in coal briquette, power generation companies and coal companies have their own entanglement.

Previously, in order to reduce the operating pressure of power generation companies, the relevant state departments took the lead in coal industry and power generation industry signed an annual purchase and sales contract, that is, key coal contracts, to force the coal industry to guarantee the power company to supply a certain amount of coal at preferential prices. Today, the price of electric coal is in line, the key contract is cancelled, and the price of electric coal will be completely determined by the market supply and demand sides.

Zhongyu Information Analyst Guan Dali believes that for the current coal market, the abolition of the dual-track system will lead to an increase in coal prices, and power generation companies obviously do not want to see such a situation.

In fact, the industrial-related losses of thermal power companies have continued for many years. Despite this year's decline in coal prices and the adjustment of electricity prices, many of the thermal power companies have been under pressure to operate. However, if coal prices rise further at this time, it is bound to make it more difficult for thermal power companies to turn around.

Shen Huijuan (000543) Securities Affairs representative Fang Huijuan told reporters that the coal bridging does not mean much benefit to power generation companies, but it means a solid step toward marketization for the entire industry.

For coal industry insiders, the key contract coal is actually equivalent to a reserve price for the market coal price. In the decade of gold in the coal industry, coal companies have always complained that the price of the key contract is far below the market price, and the existence of the key contract coal is not conducive to the coal companies obtaining more profits. However, in this year's market conditions, the key contract coal has guaranteed the order of coal enterprises to some extent. The coal brigade cancelled the key contract coal, but it was not good for coal companies.

It is understood that with the drop in coal prices this year, many coal-fired power companies have contracted coal prices and market prices have been upside down. Without the market price, coal companies fear that coal prices will continue to fall.

According to Wan Xuezhi, a researcher in the energy industry of China Investment Advisors, in the short term, because coal prices are operating at a low level, coal-fired rails are more likely to be favored by coal companies, and power companies will often resort to boycott measures to protect their own interests; in the long run, electricity The coal combination will have a good promotion effect on coal companies and power companies. Both can determine their own revenue according to the market price of coal.