Research on Consumption Behavior of Power Users based on Full

Liberalization of Power Selling Side

Yaman Huang and Yingqi Liu

Department of Business Administration, Beijing Jiaotong University, Haidian, Beijing, China

Keywords: Full Release of Electricity Sales Side, Electricity Market, Power Users, AISAS.

Abstract: Since reform and opening up, China has carried out many electric power reforms. At present, the

marketization reform of electricity selling side has been effective, which has injected new vitality into the

development of electricity market, and the consumption behavior of electricity users has also changed. This

paper analyzes the development of electricity market and electricity trading mode under the background of

full liberalization of electricity sales side, constructs the research model framework of electricity user

consumption behavior through AISAS model, and designs the questionnaire of electricity user consumption

behavior. The basic information of power users and the variables that attract consumers' attention, stimulate

consumers' interest, the variables of consumers' information search, the variables of consumers' purchasing,

and the variables of consumers' information sharing are measured. Finally, the consumption characteristics of

power users are analyzed, and suggestions are put forward for the electric power trading platform.

1 INTRODUCTION

Electric power is the driving force of national

economic development and an important basis for

supporting modern production and life. At present,

there are some problems in the power market, such as

low efficiency of resource utilization, lack of relevant

management mechanism, lack of effective

competition mechanism for electricity selling side,

insufficient market transaction between users and

power generation enterprises, and the decisive role of

market allocation of resources is difficult to play. In

August 2017, China selected the south (starting from

Guangdong), Mengxi, Zhejiang, Shanxi, Shandong,

Fujian, Sichuan, Gansu and other eight regions as the

first batch of pilot, to accelerate the organization and

promotion of power spot market construction. With

the full liberalization of electricity sales side, power

users' participation in power purchase and

consumption behavior will also have an impact. This

paper studies the consumption behavior of power

users under the background of full liberalization of

electricity sales side, analyzes the characteristics of

consumption behavior of power users, and provides a

theoretical basis for the power trading platform to

better meet the needs of power users and enhance

competitiveness.

For the research on the power trading platform,

Wang (Wang, 2016) and others summarized the

achievements since the power system reform and the

problems existing in the market construction, such as

the opaque transmission and distribution price

verification mechanism and the incomplete

transformation of enterprise role, and analyzed the

corresponding reasons. Zeng (Zeng, 2016) et al.

analyzed the reform of electricity selling side and

electricity selling companies and held that the key to

the market-oriented reform of electric power is the

reform of electricity price, in which the liberalization

of electricity selling market is closely related to the

construction of energy Internet. Yang (Yang, 2017) et

al. designed a strategic platform for electricity sales

of power grid enterprises from the perspective of

power grid platform strategy from five aspects,

including electricity sales business positioning, target

market segmentation and user filtering mechanism.

As for the research on power users, based on the

market-oriented environment, the basic power supply

can no longer meet the needs of power users, and

customized and personalized energy services will be

more desirable. In addition, users can independently

choose electricity sales companies with better power

consumption mode and high power consumption

efficiency, and these companies are allowed to charge

reasonable fees for providing corresponding services.

924

Huang, Y. and Liu, Y.

Research on Consumption Behavior of Power Users based on Full Liberalization of Power Selling Side.

DOI: 10.5220/0011359100003440

In Proceedings of the International Conference on Big Data Economy and Digital Management (BDEDM 2022), pages 924-929

ISBN: 978-989-758-593-7

Sun et al. (Sun, 2018) analyzed the main factors

influencing users' selection of electricity selling

companies in the electricity market, divided users into

three categories: large industrial users, general

industrial and commercial users and residential users,

and then modeled according to the load

characteristics of different users to analyze users'

behavior of choosing electricity selling companies.

2 THE POWER MARKET

2.1 Definition of Electricity Market

Broad electricity market. Power market in the broad

sense refers to the economic system including the

relationship between power production, transmission,

use and sales.

Narrow electricity market. In the narrow sense,

the electricity market refers to the competitive

electricity market, which refers to the electricity

producers and users through negotiation, bidding and

other ways of electricity and related products related

to the transaction, and through market competition to

determine the behavior, product price and quantity.

The market is characterized by openness,

competition, planning and coordination.

2.2 Impact of Power Selling Side

Liberalization

2.2.1 Promote the Transformation of the

Role of the Original Market Players

Before the release of the power sales side, the

participants in the power market were power

generation enterprises, power grid enterprises and

power users. Because users have little influence on

the market, a pattern of power generation and power

grid is formed. After the official issuance of

Document No. 9, power generation enterprises

actively participate in the market and competition,

and are allowed to sell electricity directly to large

users. Due to the impact of various power sales

entities, power grid enterprises take the initiative to

join the competition and provide users with various

power sales services.

2.2.2 Promote More Diversified Markets

and Businesses

In order to win the market, various power sales

companies have launched various power sales

packages to meet the needs of different users, and the

competition is extremely fierce. Moreover, all kinds

of emerging power selling companies have the

characteristics of small individuals, rapid

transformation and strong adaptability, which has a

great impact on the original market subjects and their

interests.

3 DESIGN OF QUESTIONNAIRE

ON CONSUMPTION

BEHAVIOR OF POWER USERS

3.1 AISAS Model Overview

AISAS model divides consumer behavior into five

stages: A: Attention; I: Interest; S: Search; A: Action;

S: Share. The core of the AISAS model is search and

sharing.

AI stage is the customer gathering stage, gathering

target users to the enterprise Internet platform is the

most important step of Internet platform marketing.

In this link, enterprises can provide targeted

information and related services, gradually establish

and enhance the brand image of enterprises through

the Internet platform, and gather more and more

target users.

SAS stage is the customer interaction and sharing

stage. In the three links of information search,

generation and purchase and information sharing,

enterprise Internet platform interacts with customers

and customers interact with their own customers at

multiple levels.

3.2 Construction of Power

Consumption Mode System based

Table 1: construction of power consumption mode system.

Primary

Index

Secondary

Index

Tertiary Index

Attention

The degree of

concern about

electricity

trading patterns

Level of interest in trading

items

Level of interest in the

transaction method

The degree of

concern on the

generator side

Degree of preference for

renewable energy

The degree of

concern on the

selling side

Degree of preference for

electricity suppliers

Interest Power trading

platform to

communicate

with consumers

The extent to which the

platform disseminates

electricity trading

information

The degree to which

platforms build relationships

with consumers

Research on Consumption Behavior of Power Users based on Full Liberalization of Power Selling Side

925

The degree to which the

platform maintains a

relationship with consumers

Expectations

for power

trading

platforms

Customers' ideal

expectations for the service

quality of the platform

The customer's minimum

expectation of the service

quality of the platform

The

convenience of

consumer

information

Through which channels to

search for power trading

platform selection

Through which channels to

search for trading patterns to

choose

Action

Reliability of

power trading

platform

Grade the performance of

commitments

Evaluate whether the

platform personnel are

professional

Whether the grid load is

properly planne

Convenience of

electricity

trading

platform

Convenience of telephone

and Internet consulting

services

The convenience of door-to-

door service

Timeliness of

electricity

trading

platform

Score information release,

electricity price settlement,

contract signing, complaints

and feedbac

Fairness of

electricity

trading

platform

Score the fairness of

resource allocation, power

purchase plan and

transaction results

Consumers like

and are willing

to share

Score the e-commerce

providers who are willing to

share and promote sales

Score your willingness to

share and promote

transaction patterns

Rating generators willing to

share promotions

3.3 Questionnaire Distribution and

Data Collection

Formal questionnaires are mainly electronic

questionnaires issued on the network as the carrier,

and the survey objects are people related to electricity

trading. Questionnaires were issued to electricity

consumers in different industries and regions. 350

formal questionnaires were issued and 332 were

recovered, with a recovery rate of 94.9%. 32 invalid

questionnaires were deleted, and 300 valid

questionnaires remained, with a valid questionnaire

recovery rate of 90.3%.

4 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

4.1 Basic Statistical Analysis of

Consumers

4.1.1 Power Consumption Attribute

In the 300-point questionnaire, there are 170

commercial users, accounting for 56.67% of the total

number of respondents, 95 industrial users,

accounting for 31.67% of the total number of

respondents, and 89.34% of industrial and

commercial users, which is similar to the power

consumption proportion of industrial and commercial

users in the Analysis Report on The Status of China's

Electricity Consumption Demand in 2019. Indicates

that this data is representative in the proportion of

users.

4.1.2 Electricity Consumption Market

There were 232 consumers in the retail market,

accounting for 77.33%; 68 users, accounting for

22.67%, consume electricity in the wholesale market,

which involves the sale of electricity between power

companies and power traders, and ultimately sells it

to consumers; In the retail market, electricity sales

companies are the main agents to purchase electricity.

Due to the low bargaining power of small and

medium-sized enterprises, they are more inclined to

purchase electricity on behalf of electricity sales

companies. This is consistent with the conclusion that

electricity users tend to be medium and small in the

electricity Trade Report 2020, indicating that the

survey results are representative in the electricity

consumption market structure.

4.1.3 Electricity Trading Category

Among the 300 surveyed users, 82 and 101 users used

spot trading frequently and secondary users

respectively, accounting for 61% in total; There are

43 frequent users and 81 secondary users of futures

trading respectively. Frequent users and secondary

users account for 41.33% of futures trading. If the

frequent users or secondary users are classified as the

main users, it can be found that the total proportion of

main spot trading and main futures trading is close to

100%. It shows that the results of this investigation

are true in terms of electricity trading varieties.

4.1.4 Option of Electricity Seller

From the 300 valid questionnaires, it can be

BDEDM 2022 - The International Conference on Big Data Economy and Digital Management

926

concluded that there are 224 users who often use and

secondary use the power sales of power grid

companies, ranking first in all power sales industries,

and the selection of power users for the other six types

of power sellers is similar. This shows that with the

opening of China's power market, a new market

pattern of "multiple buyers and multiple sellers" has

gradually taken shape. Under this pattern, China's

power users have the right to choose their own power

sellers after comprehensive consideration of factors

such as price, service and reputation of power selling

companies, In the research, we can provide new ideas

for the innovation of power trading mode by

observing the differences of power users' choice of

power suppliers.

4.1.5 Electricity Trading Cycle

Electricity consumers mainly choose the form of

annual transaction and monthly transaction, among

which the number of regular and minor annual

transaction consumers account for 31.33% of the total

number, the number of regular and minor monthly

transaction consumers account for 55% of the total

number, both more than 50%; Power consumers

seldom choose the form of day-trading and day-

trading, and the number of consumers who never use

day-trading and never use day-trading exceeds one

third of the total number. It can be seen that medium

and long term electricity transaction is still the most

common form of electricity market transaction at

present, and electricity consumers rarely participate

in electricity spot transaction. China to speed up the

pace of reform of electricity market, promote the

construction of electric power spot market, but the

current electricity spot market also is not very perfect,

also has the very big development space, along with

the advancement of electric power spot market, the

future to participate in electricity will gradually

increase the proportion of the spot transactions.

4.1.6 Mode of Electricity Transaction

The vast majority of electricity consumers are

inclined to participate in bilateral negotiated

transactions, and the number of consumers who often

use bilateral negotiated transactions and those who

use bilateral negotiated transactions is 67.33%. In

terms of economics, bilateral electricity transaction

maximizes the interests of both sides of supply and

demand, and reflects the fairness of the electricity

market. The transaction is simple, flexible and

practical, with low technical requirements and low

transaction costs. It is the most important form of

electricity transaction. Centralized bidding

transaction and listing transaction solve the real-time

problem and the imbalance of power supply and

demand respectively, complement and perfect the

deficiency of bilateral negotiation transaction, and are

also widely used by power consumers.

4.1.7 Degree of Preference for Green Power

On the whole, most power consumers are interested

in using renewable energy, which is consistent with

the trend of expanding green and low-carbon energy

supply and building a clean, low-carbon, safe and

efficient energy system in China. Specifically,

electricity consumers prefer hydropower in the use of

green power. In practical use, hydropower generation

has low cost, low price, high power generation

efficiency and flexibility, while photovoltaic power

generation and wind power generation have high cost.

Photovoltaic power generation is not the first choice,

which may be due to the high cost of photovoltaic

power generation, low conversion efficiency,

intermittent work, inconsistent with people's power

demand and other reasons.

4.2 Statistical Analysis of Each

Variable

4.2.1 Interest

Consumers are highly satisfied with the power trading

platform's use of various channels to disseminate

power trading information, establish relations with

consumers, maintain relations with consumers and

the service quality of the power trading platform. The

number of "satisfied" and "very satisfied" with these

services accounts for more than 80% of the

investigated people. This shows that before the

purchase behavior of power consumers, all power

trading platforms pay great attention to mastering and

meeting the interests of consumers, disseminate

power information targeted, establish and maintain

the relationship with consumers, shape a good

corporate image and gather more loyal customers.

Therefore, consumers are more satisfied with the

service of the power trading platform before

purchase.

Consumers have high ideal expectations for the

service quality of the power trading platform, the

number of people who choose "very expected"

accounts for more than 50% of the total, indicating

that power users have high requirements for power

trading, there is much room to improve the service

quality of the current power trading platform.

Research on Consumption Behavior of Power Users based on Full Liberalization of Power Selling Side

927

4.2.2. Search

For the search channel of electric power trading

platform, 34.2% of the respondents chose power grid

companies, 27.9% responded to power generation

enterprises, 19.1% responded to customer

relationship, and 18.8% responded to Internet. For the

search channel of transaction mode, 36.3% of power

grid companies, 25.7% of power generation

enterprises, 18.8% of customer relationships and

19.2% of the Internet were selected. This shows that

users prefer to obtain electricity transaction

information from power grid companies.

4.2.3. Action

The survey results show that in the process of power

purchase, power users are satisfied with the service of

the power trading platform, electricity price and

electricity settlement and the fairness and impartiality

of the transaction. More than 70% of the respondents

chose "satisfied" or "very satisfied", indicating that

the current power trading platform can basically meet

the needs of users when purchasing power. The

satisfaction of electricity price and electricity

settlement is slightly low, which needs to be further

improved.

With regard to the relationship between power

trading platform and power trading, more than 75%

of respondents agree that power trading platform

promotes the fairness of power trading and the degree

of competition in power trading. This shows that the

power trading platform enlivens the power trading

market to a certain extent, reduces the information

barrier, increases the competition of participants, and

makes the power trading more transparent and fair.

4.2.4. Share

The survey results show that consumers are willing to

recommend to other enterprises for information

sharing when they are satisfied with the cooperative

power sales market, power producers and the existing

power trading mode.

5 CONCLUSIONS

Combined with the era background of the full

liberalization of the power selling side, this paper

analyzes the development of the power market and

the development of the power trading mode,

constructs the research model framework of the

power user's consumption behavior through the

AISAS model, designs the power user's consumption

behavior questionnaire, and analyzes the basic

information of the power user, the variables that

attract the attention of consumers, the variables that

stimulate the interest of consumers By measuring the

variables of consumer information search, consumer

generated purchase and consumer information

sharing, the consumption characteristics of power

users are as follows:

 Characteristics of consumption concept:

power consumers tend to buy electricity in

the retail market. Electricity consumers tend

to use spot trading.

 Characteristics of consumption mode: the

vast majority of power consumers tend to

participate in bilateral negotiation

transactions. Medium and long-term power

trading is still the most common form of

power market trading.

 Characteristics of consumption trend:

electricity consumers prefer hydropower in

the use of green electricity. The new market

pattern of "multi buyer - Multi seller" has

gradually taken shape.

Therefore, the following suggestions are put

forward for the power trading platform:

First, market transaction organization and

Implementation. According to the transaction rules

formulated by the government, the power trading

center should builds an open, transparent and fully

functional trading platform for market members to

carry out bilateral negotiation, centralized bidding,

listing and other trading activities, and publish the

trading results. In terms of transaction contracts, the

rights and obligations of all parties to the transaction

should be further detailed and clear; Straighten out

the dispute resolution mechanism, establish timely

and effective communication channels, and

coordinate the settlement of contract disputes.

Second, statistical analysis and information

release. The power trading platform shall regularly

publish market analysis reports, evaluate the

operation status of the power market through the

analysis of key indicators of power trading operation,

and provide market environment prediction and

analysis for the next stage of trading. The power

trading platform must follow the principles of

openness, transparency, timeliness, accuracy,

standardization and unity and high-quality service,

treat all kinds of market subjects fairly.

Third, risk prevention and control. When

formulating the business process, the power trading

platform should fully consider the compliance risk,

integrate the compliance management into the

business process, and run through the whole process

of market trading activity organization, so as to

BDEDM 2022 - The International Conference on Big Data Economy and Digital Management

928

effectively avoid the occurrence of compliance risk.

At the same time, do a good job in compliance and

self-discipline of their own operations.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work is supported by Science and Technology

Project of SGCC (Research on electricity

consumption mode innovation and company business

mode based on energy Internet, No. 1400-

202057432A-0-0-00).

REFERENCES

Ofuji K T N. (2016) Wholesale and retail electricity

markets in Japan: Results of market revitalization

measures and prospects for the current. Economics of

Energy & Environmental Policy, 5(1): 31-50.

Sun, Y. T., Song, Y. Q., Yao, L. Z., Yan, Z. (2018) Study

on Power Consumers’ Choices of Electricity Retailers

in Electricity Selling Market. Power System

Technology, 42: 1124-1131.

Wang, P. (2016) Further promote the "124" plan of 2017

power reform. China Electric Power Enterprise

Management, 31: 39-41.

Yang, J. J., Zhang, F., Zhang, C. Q. (2017) Research on

power sales platform strategy of power grid enterprises

under the situation of new power reform. Journal of

State Grid Institute of Technology, 20: 42-45.

Zeng, M. (2016) Analysis on some problems of "service

attribute" of power sales companies. China Electric

Power Enterprise Management, 04: 41-43.

Zeng, M. (2015) "Seven questions" new electricity reform.

China Electric Power Enterprise Management, 09: 11-

14.

Zeng, M. (2016) Electricity sales side reform leads new

electricity demand. China Electric Power Enterprise

Management,13: 20-24.

Research on Consumption Behavior of Power Users based on Full Liberalization of Power Selling Side

929