Demand side management in China: The context of China's power industry reform

The reform of China's power industry has lasted for decades, while the implementation of demand side management (DSM) in China is still in its infancy. In this paper, we present a comprehensive study of the DSM and Demand Response (DR) programs in China under the context of China's power industry reform. We first present a brief introduction of the background, including the socio economic status and geographical location of China, the energy policy of China, China's power industry, the smart grids and microgrid in China, and the reform of China's power industry. Then, based on the introduction of DSM and the analysis of DSM practices in some countries, we discuss the development status of DSM and the reform of electricity pricing in China. Finally, the main challenges in five aspects for the future development of DSM programs in China are proposed and discussed. These challenges include customer understanding and participation, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and information and communication technology (ICT), pricing mechanisms and optimal scheduling, big data analytics based decision support, as well as government regulations and market policies.