Chinese natural gas distributor ENN eyes major expansion in power retailing
Beijing is dismantling the retail monopoly held by mainland China’s two state-owned power distributors
ENN Energy, one of the mainland’s largest city-natural gas distributors, has set up 13 provincial-level power retail firms in preparation for expansion in the nascent business, which started in Guangdong.
ENN Group, its parent, is among 11 firms that won licences in December to sell electricity in Guangdong – the first mainland province to open up the sector.
Three of the 11 firms are private ones, with the remainder, including two large power producers, being state-owned.
Late last year, Beijing announced detailed policies on dismantling the retail monopoly held by mainland China’s two state-owned power distributors, and encouraged private firms like ENN to join the fray.
“Guangdong will be our trial project, which will be rolled out when regulation allows to over 20 industrial parks where we have obtained rights to distribute natural gas,” ENN Energy deputy chairman Cheung Yip-sang said on Tuesday. “Our customers are very supportive of our integrated model of providing power, gas, heat and cooling services.”
Our customers are very supportive of our integrated model of providing power, gas, heat and cooling services
He said the key to gaining competitiveness in the power retail business lay in information technology and financial modelling that enabled a firm to come up with the most cost-efficient way of procuring and supplying energy.