Regardless of the model, the difficulty of development lies not in the technology itself, but in its operating mechanism. The difficulty of operating mechanism is mainly due to the lack of a sound power market mechanism and power industry supervision mechanism. The main bottleneck in the current development of the Energy Internet is that the electricity market mechanism is not yet sound.

 

     The reporter learned from the “Smart Energy Internet Forum” held during the 2018 China International Electric Power Exhibition that in the current power marketization background, digital intelligence is bringing changes to the power market mechanism construction, power distribution, power sales and other fields. Energy Internet based on this will also bring new development to the power system.

 

     Industry experts pointed out that after the realization of a variety of energy physical interconnection networks with the power system as the core hub, the information Internet and the energy industry will promote each other, and enter the stage of information guiding energy and energy enhancing value, achieving the deep integration of energy and information, and energy production. And consumption has reached a new energy industry form that is highly customized, automated, intelligent, and integrated. However, as the electricity correction is currently in the advancing stage, the development of the energy Internet model has been affected to a certain extent.

 

The electricity market mechanism is not sound

     The current practice of the Energy Internet is roughly divided into two dimensions: vertical source-network-load-storage coordination and horizontal multi-energy complementarity. The vertical use of the Internet serves the production, transaction, and consumption of energy. The focus is on the application of Internet technology in all aspects of energy production and consumption, such as energy storage and virtual power plants. The horizontal dimension focuses on the interconnection and on-site utilization of multiple energy sources. It requires not only distributed energy carriers, but also Internet information technology to solve distributed energy services to users nearby.

 

    Regardless of the model, the difficulty of development lies not in the technology itself, but in its operating mechanism. The difficulty of operating mechanism is mainly due to the lack of a sound power market mechanism and power industry supervision mechanism. "Wu Junhong, director of the Smart Energy Office of East China Electric Power Design Institute, believes that the main bottleneck in the current development of the Energy Internet is that the electricity market mechanism is not yet sound.

 

     Wu Junhong told reporters: Energy Internet is mainly to solve energy, especially the production and consumption of new energy, with good efficiency and lower cost, so the market mechanism is particularly important.

 

    First of all, the market must allow this type of model to emerge. The current electricity sales companies are a great improvement compared to traditional electricity sales entities, but they are not enough for the energy Internet, and their market entry barriers or entry resistance are still too large. The second is that the market must provide price signals, so that the operation of the energy Internet has room for optimization and profitability. However, my country's electricity market has just started, and the space given is far from enough.

 

    In this regard, a researcher in the power industry expressed similar views. He believes that the current energy Internet is still in the initial stage of concept implementation, and the real implementation still requires business models and technical support. "At this stage, it is more optimistic from a technical perspective. But from the perspective of business models, since the electricity reform is still in progress, many new elements of the energy Internet support policies are in progress, and the implementation of the energy Internet will follow the market reform process and various localities. The implementation of relevant documents and policies is gradually advancing. The Energy Internet needs a stable market environment, or it needs policies to give a market environment, so that the corresponding elements have a feasible mode of adjustable interaction and benefits.

 

    However, the above-mentioned researchers believe that the current electricity market is constantly advancing. "We have seen the gradual improvement process one after another, and now we can actually support some ‘playing methods’.

 

To force electricity to change is unrealistic

    The electricity reform has contributed to the establishment of an ancillary service market, and the ancillary service market is a part of the power marketization process that is beneficial to the operation and interaction of the energy Internet. The above-mentioned researchers believe that the electricity reform includes the entire electricity sales side reform, which will enable more competitors to join the distribution end, especially the electricity sales link, and operate more flexibly. "In addition, the spot market will also support the development of the Energy Internet. The spot market can reflect the differentiated value of electricity at different points in time, which is beneficial to the characteristics of the Energy Internet.

 

    Yu Qing, deputy general manager of Hangzhou Shuyuan Information Technology Co., Ltd., said at the forum: “Currently, the spot market has not yet been established, and there is a lack of monetization channels. The technical nature of the energy Internet is source network load storage, that is, "distributed power + energy storage. +Microgrid + flexible load" and other technologies. The essence of these technology applications is that the economy should exceed that of the large power grid. And the price fluctuations in the spot market, especially when the price rises sharply during peak hours, can the economics of the energy Internet be reflected .

 

     Wu Junhong believes that under the background that the power market mechanism has not yet been perfected and the energy Internet has not obtained real room for development, the energy Internet should force the power reform to speed up the process.

 

    At present, the energy Internet project is struggling, and it can be said that the power reform has not been done in place. The Internet of Energy should be a kind of promotion or a compelling effect for electricity reform. But at present, it is not realistic to hope that the energy Internet will accelerate the power reform. It is the level of the energy Internet model that can be achieved at which stage of the power improvement. In other words, the successful application of the Internet of Energy needs to be pinned on the electricity reform.

 

Electricity reform and energy interconnection need to be implemented. Where are the cuts where the two fit together?

     In Wu Junhong's view, incremental distribution network is a good entry point for the current energy Internet. "The reason is very simple. The incremental distribution network itself is a product of the electricity reform and has a very good market mechanism.

 

     Wu Junhong introduced that in the incremental distribution network, the production and utilization efficiency of distributed energy is higher, and the transaction cost is also lower. It can provide a physical carrier for power flow and information flow for integrated energy business, and it can also provide favorable conditions for multi-energy complementary integration and optimization.

 

    Incremental distribution network can meet the requirements of the integrated energy supply system with electric power as the core, and can also provide better services for more intelligent user interaction. In the increased distribution network mode, the integrated energy service provider can directly realize the relationship between distributed power sources and users, and couple the electric energy production end and the sales end through the electricity sales service of the integrated energy provider.

 

    Energy Internet transforms the grid from the original core of power transmission system and distribution system to the energy Internet model of power transmission system, public distribution network system and source network load storage. These changes will also bring new opportunities and challenges to the power distribution field. Yu Qing said that the power distribution field will usher in new opportunities such as the upgrade from manufacturing to service, the integration of power sales and services, and the digitization and intelligence of power distribution. At the same time, it is also facing the multiple challenges of new entrants, service models, digitalization and artificial intelligence.

 

    Yu Qing also revealed that if the energy Internet has a good room for development, it will be redefined and valued in the future, and the power system will also be innovated. It is likely that "hardware is replaced by software, and labor is replaced by equipment".

 

    Before Apple's mobile phone, many hardware manufacturers had a good life, but after the emergence of smart phones, many hardware became APPs. In the field of power distribution, many of the original hardware functions will become software after they are replaced by standardized terminals or edge computing devices. This impact is like the impact of Apple’s mobile phones on hardware manufacturers.

 

    In addition, Yu Qing also believes that there will be a process of revaluation and positioning of the Energy Internet in the future. The future valuation will not be based on the number of companies, but based on the number of connected smart devices. In the future, energy consumers, transmitters, and producers will all be equipment, and the Internet of Energy will be a true practice of intelligent Internet of Things. "A certain possibility of the future energy Internet will be a technical architecture of'edge computing + ubiquitous control + AI'.