China Unifies Non-fossil Energy Power Accounting Rules with New National Guidelines
Xinhua News Agency reports five central government departments including the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration have jointly issued the Trial Guidelines for the Accounting of Non-fossil Energy Power Consumption on June 1. The nationwide regulatory document establishes unified standardised accounting methodologies for non-fossil energy power consumption at provincial, municipal and individual power user levels, laying standardised operational foundations for tiered energy consumption statistics across the country.
The newly released guidelines are designed to standardise the calculation framework for indirect carbon emissions generated by power consumption. The institutional framework enables effective coordination and connection between multiple policy mechanisms covering electric energy trading, green certificate transactions and carbon emission accounting systems. It resolves long-standing institutional inconsistencies that have constrained refined green energy supervision and market transaction standardisation in the domestic energy sector.
Non-fossil energy power dominates China’s clean energy consumption structure, with power consumption accounting for 95 percent of the country’s total non-fossil energy utilisation volume. The rapid expansion of clean power application scenarios and market transactions has exposed structural deficiencies in the original accounting system. Previous industrial operations faced fragmented statistical rules, insufficient coverage of verified accounting subjects and inadequate policy coordination between green energy trading and carbon management mechanisms. The new unified guidelines fill institutional gaps and support systematic, standardised and transparent governance of the clean power industry.
The official document defines three authoritative classification and verification mechanisms for attributing each kilowatt-hour of non-fossil energy power consumption, forming a comprehensive and mutually complementary accounting system covering all green power consumption scenarios.
Physical verification covers self-generated and self-consumed non-fossil electricity, on-site power utilisation from emerging green power direct connection models, and power consumption for operational support at non-fossil energy generation projects. This category authenticates actual on-site clean power consumption through physical power generation and consumption data, ensuring accurate recording of onsite green energy utilisation.
Transaction verification applies to non-fossil energy power involved in standard electric energy trading and national green certificate trading activities. It standardises the statistical attribution of green power consumed by market participants through formal market transaction records, recognising market-oriented green energy consumption behaviours of enterprises and public institutions.
Allocation verification serves as a supplementary guarantee for full-scenario accounting integrity. It targets non-fossil energy electricity volumes not included in physical or transaction verification processes, implementing inter-provincial and intra-provincial power allocation statistics. The supplementary mechanism eliminates statistical blind spots and realises full-coverage tracking of national non-fossil energy power consumption data.
The implementation of unified accounting standards will further optimise China’s green low-carbon development system. Standardised statistical rules will facilitate orderly market circulation of green power and green certificates, smooth out institutional barriers for cross-regional clean energy resource allocation, and support precise implementation of dual carbon governance targets. The unified framework will continuously advance the coordinated development of green power trading, energy conservation supervision and carbon emission management systems to drive high-quality transformation of the national energy structure.
