China's State Grid moves into deregulated power markets

摘要

The recent acquisitions of power grid assets in Australia by China's State Grid Corp of China created a lot of global interest because of the deal's size. These significant acquisitions will provide the State Grid with first-hand knowledge of how modern deregulated power markets function, which will be of great value to China's monopoly power transmission company. State Grid, which owns and operates both high-voltage power transmission and low voltage distribution assets in all but five of China's southern provinces and administration regions, reported in May that it had agreed to buy 60% of SPI (Australia) Assets. In addition, State Grid took a 19.9% stake in the Australia-listed SP AusNet from the State-owned utility Singapore Power. It was reported by AusNet that it sold the 19.9% stake for A$824 million, the two deals amounting to US$7.5 billion in total. When questioned by the media, State Grid's spokesperson did not respond to any questions about the purchases.