國家電網千億美元超高壓輸電方案引爭議

China's state-controlled grid operator is proposing to invest roughly $100 billion on technology to transmit electricity over long distances─presenting President Xi Jinping's administration with an important test of how it treats China's biggest government-controlled companies.

中國政府控制的電網運營商提出投資約1,000億美元用於研發長距離輸電技術。此舉給習近平爲首的新一屆政府出了一道重要考題，外界可以從中看出新一屆政府將如何對待中國最大的幾家政府控制的企業。

The infrastructure project, among the most expensive ever proposed in China, has stirred debate among energy experts. State Grid Corp. of China says building a nationwide network of ultrahigh-voltage transmission Lines will reduce power losses when transporting electricity over long distances. That will enable power producers to place dirty, coal-burning power stations nearer to mines rather than cities, cutting urban air pollution. The lines will also allow China to tap renewable wind and hydro resources in remote regions.

這一基礎設施項目可以算是中國迄今提出的成本最高的一個項目，同時也在能源專家中引發爭議。中國國家電網公司(State Grid Corp. of China)說，在全國範圍內建設一個超高壓輸電線路網絡能夠在長距離輸電時降低功率損耗。這樣發電廠就能將污染嚴重的燃煤電廠建在離煤礦較近的地方，而不是靠近城市，這能減少城市空氣污染。這樣的超高壓輸電線路還能令中國利用偏遠地區的風電和水電等可再生能源。

But skeptics question the project's viability and its high costs. Others criticize the plan because they say a big state investment would strengthen State Grid's position when many want it broken up as a precursor to making electricity pricing more market-oriented.

但懷疑者質疑該項目的可行性及其高昂的成本。其他人批評這一計劃則是因爲在他們看來，政府進行這樣一大筆投資會進一步鞏固國家電網的地位。眼下很多人希望分拆國家電網，以此作爲電價定價市場化程度提高的前奏。

The project could have repercussions abroad. The company has spent heavily on assets in Australia, Portugal and Brazil in recent years, and company executives are eager to apply expertise in ultrahigh-voltage transmissions to other emerging economies, such as Brazil, that may choose to transport electricity over long distances.

該項目可能在國外產生反響。國家電網近年來在澳大利亞、葡萄牙和巴西的資產上投入巨資，該公司高管渴望將其在超高壓輸電方面的專業技術應用到巴西等其它新興經濟體上。這些新興經濟體可能選擇長距離輸電方案。

Analysts say whether the government fully embraces rolling out State Grid's proposed ultrahigh-voltage network will send a signal about the approach of China's new leaders toward state monopolies, which have been instrumental in building China's economy rapidly but are widely considered to be rife with corruption and inefficiency. State Grid supplies power to 1.1 billion people, and it has more than $350 billion in assets and 1.9 million employees.

分析師說，無論中國政府最終是否會完全認可國家電網提出的超高壓輸電網絡方案，此事都將釋放出一個信號，即中國新一代領導人會如何應對國有壟斷企業。在中國經濟快速增長的過程中，國有壟斷企業發揮了作用，但普遍認爲此類企業腐敗盛行且效率低下。國家電網向國內11億民衆供電，其資產規模超過3,500億美元，員工數量爲190萬人。

Whether Mr. Xi seeks to overhaul State Grid 'will be a test of the new government, whether their reform agenda actually goes into the energy sector or whether they think it's too difficult technically or politically,' says Philip Andrews-Speed, who researches China energy governance at the National University of Singapore.

新加坡國立大學(National University of Singapore)研究中國能源治理的安德魯斯-斯彼得(Philip Andrews-Speed)說，習近平是否打算改革國家電網將成爲擺在新一屆中國政府面前的一道考題。從中可以看出其改革議程是否真的打算涉足能源業，也可以看出他們是否認爲這一改革在技術上或政治上難度過大。

Discussions are under way to introduce greater competition and improve the performance of China's most important state-owned enterprises more broadly in the economy as well.

目前正在討論的內容包括，引入更多競爭，更廣泛地提升中國經濟中最重要的國有企業的績效。

Then-Premier Wen Jiabao last year criticized the lack of rivals for China's state-controlled banks. In March Chinese leaders announced a shake-up of the country's troubled railroads and eliminated the railways ministry. Breaking up the once-powerful ministry, which had sagged beneath heavy debt and been stung by corruption allegations, was seen by analysts as a step toward introducing greater competition in the sector. The government also has taken modest steps to liberalize a telecommunications industry long dominated by three state-run providers. Beijing says it will require the carriers to lease out services on their networks to private companies.

去年，時任中國總理的溫家寶曾批評中國國有銀行缺乏競爭對手。今年3月，中國領導人宣佈陷入困境的鐵路系統進行重大人事調整，並撤銷了鐵道部。在分析師看來，分拆曾經權力巨大的鐵道部是朝在鐵道系統引入更多競爭的方向邁出了一步。鐵道部揹負了沉重的債務負擔，同時深受諸多腐敗問題困擾。中國政府也已經採取溫和舉措放開長期以來被三大國有運營商把持的電信業。北京表示，它將要求運營商對民營企業出租其網絡上的部分服務。

Questions over electricity supply and a potential overhaul of the power grid are particularly sensitive in China, where power-intensive industries are crucial to economic growth and a reliable power supply is a basic requirement for manufacturers of everything from clothing to iPhones.

有關電力供應以及可能對電網進行重大改革的問題在中國尤爲敏感。在中國，用電大戶行業對中國經濟增長非常關鍵，而可靠的電力供應對於各類生產企業來說都是一項基本要求，無論其製造的是服裝還是iPhone。

During China's annual parliamentary session in March, State Grid Chairman Liu Zhenya promoted ultrahigh-voltage technology as central to reducing hazardous levels of fine particulate matter in the air. The company and industry analysts say the network also would relieve the strain on railways, which carry coal from the less densely populated North and West to power plants in population centers of the East.

今年3月全國兩會召開期間，國家電網公司董事長劉振亞提出，超高壓輸電技術是降低空氣中有害的細小顆粒物水平的關鍵。國家電網和行業分析師說，這一輸電網絡也能減輕鐵路系統的壓力。目前，火車將煤從人口密度較低的西北部地區運至東部人口中心的發電廠。

'Our national conditions require this kind of technology,' says Zhang Zhengling, deputy director of State Grid's development-and-planning department.

國家電網發展策劃部副主任張正陵說，我們的國情決定我們需要這種技術。

The company was formed in 2002 through the breakup of the former China State Power Corp. into separate entities responsible for either power generation or transmission and distribution. The company covers vast swaths of territory, from remote Tibetan communities in the Himalayas to manufacturing centers on the East Coast. A second company, China Southern Power Grid Co., controls transmission and distribution in parts of southern China.

該公司於2002年組建，當時前中國國家電力公司一分爲多個實體，分別負責發電和輸配電。該公司覆蓋大片地區，從偏遠的喜馬拉雅山藏區到東部沿海的製造業中心。另有一家公司中國南方電網有限責任公司(China Southern Power Grid Co.)控制着中國南方部分地區的輸配電。

State Grid over the past decade consolidated its dominant position as it extended its network to keep pace with breakneck economic growth and soaring power production. From 2010 to last year, China added around 180 gigawatts of power-generating capacity─more than Germany's overall capacity in 2010.

過去10年中，國家電網擴大網絡規模，以便跟上中國飛速的經濟增長和不斷飆升的電力生產。從2010年到去年，中國新增發電容量約1.8億千瓦，比德國2010年的總髮電容量還要高。

Ultrahigh-voltage transmission is one of State Grid's most ambitious initiatives. The company began operating three ultrahigh-voltage lines in recent years and four others are under construction.

超高壓輸電是國家電網最宏大的計劃之一。近年來，該公司開始運營三條超高壓輸電線路，另有四條在施工建設中。

State Grid is seeking approval for at least 14 additional lines that would require more than 350 billion yuan, or roughly $55 billion, in investment. Overall investment in State Grid's proposed ultrahigh-voltage network would top 584 billion yuan ($95 billion), it says.

國家電網另有至少14個輸電線路建設項目正在爭取獲得批准，總計需要投資逾人民幣3,500億元。國家電網說，該公司擬建的超高壓輸電網絡總投資將達人民幣5,840億元。

China isn't the first country to experiment with ultrahigh-voltage transmission. The U.S., Japan and the former Soviet Union experimented with ultrahigh-voltage technology in recent decades. But a variety of factors, including stagnant power demand, meant lines weren't rolled out as widely as has been proposed in China.

中國並非第一個嘗試超高壓輸電的國家。近幾十年中，美國、日本和前蘇聯都曾嘗試過超高壓技術。但由於各種因素，包括電力需求停滯不前，這些國家超高壓輸電線路的規模都不及中國擬建的規模大。

State Grid's scale is widely credited as a reason China has been able to build its network so rapidly over the past decade and helps ensure that the power supply in manufacturing centers keeps pace with demand.

國家電網的規模被普遍認爲是過去10年中國能夠迅速構建網絡，保證製造業中心的電力供應可以滿足需求的原因之一。

But as Chinese growth moderates, Mr. Xi's government has a new priority. It wants to rebalance the Chinese economy away from a lopsided reliance on government investment and exports and toward greater domestic consumption. Ensuring that industrial and commercial electricity consumers are charged a fair rate is pivotal to that transformation.

但隨着中國經濟增長放緩，習近平領導的政府有了一個新的首要任務。政府希望實現中國經濟從嚴重依賴政府投資和出口到內需拉動的轉型。確保對工業和商業電力消費者收費合理對實現經濟轉型至關重要。

But linking grid fees more closely with coal prices is a challenge, analysts say. Chinese power generators' earnings have been squeezed in recent years by high prices for coal, their main feedstock. The companies have struggled to pass rising costs onto consumers as grid fees remain regulated.

但分析人士說，將電價與煤價更緊密地掛鉤是一項挑戰。近年來，中國發電企業的收益因高煤價而受到擠壓。煤炭是發電企業的主要原料。由於電價仍受到監管部門的控制，發電企業一直難以將不斷上升的成本轉嫁給消費者。

Structural issues also have hampered pricing changes. Because State Grid has a monopoly on buying and selling electricity across most of the country, it is able to justify charging end users higher electricity prices by overstating its transmission and distribution costs, according to some analysts. They say regulators have struggled to ascertain State Grid's true costs and profit as electricity moves through the grid.

各種結構性問題也一直在阻礙定價的調整。據一些分析人士說，由於國家電網在中國大部分地區的電力買賣中佔據壟斷地位，它能通過誇大輸配電成本爲自己向最終用戶收取更高的電價找到理由。他們說，由於電力在電網中傳輸，監管機構一直難以確定國家電網的真實成本和利潤。

'You can't get a rationale pricing structure until you can force State Grid to unveil what its costs are,' says Arthur Kroeber, managing director of economic research firm GaveKal Dragonomics.

經濟研究公司龍洲經訊(GaveKal Dragonomics)董事總經理葛藝豪(Arthur Kroeber)說，除非能迫使國家電網公佈其成本，否則無法得到一個合理的定價結構。

State Grid says regulators sit in its Beijing headquarters and are aware of the company's costs and earnings.

國家電網說，監管人員就坐在其北京總部內，清楚其成本和盈利情況。

Early signals from China's new leadership suggest that a push for power overhaul is on the way. At the National People's Congress, China's government said it would merge the National Energy Administration with the State Electricity Regulatory Commission. Analysts say combining the regulators would strengthen the NEA as it seeks electricity-sector changes partially directed at State Grid.

中國新一代領導人發出的早期信號顯示，即將開始推進電力改革。在全國人大上，中國政府說，將把國家電力監管委員會併入國家能源局。分析人士說，目前國家能源局正尋求進行電力行業改革，部分是針對國家電網，將這兩家監管機構合二爲一有可能擴大國家能源局的權力。

Concerns over power reliability continue to weigh on the government, says Lin Boqiang, who runs the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University and advises Beijing on energy issues. The underlying fear is that too aggressive an overhaul could disrupt power supply, which in turn could threaten economic or social stability.

廈門大學中國能源經濟研究中心主任、在能源問題上爲北京提供建議的林伯強說，圍繞電力可靠性的擔憂繼續給政府帶來重壓；根本的擔心是過於激進的改革可能會擾亂電力供應，進而可能威脅經濟或社會穩定。

'People know in general what needs to be done,' Mr. Lin says. 'The point is, at this moment, it's very confusing.'

林伯強說，人們大體知道需要做些什麼，但問題是目前的局面非常混亂。