Does China's energy development plan affect energy conservation? Empirical evidence from coal-fired power generation

Drawing on provincial panel data in China, we study the causal relationship between generation hours and coal consumption rate of coal-fired power and its implication for energy conservation in China's energy development plan. Empirical results suggest that (1) low generation hours resulting from peak regulation were the main reason for poor efficiency of coal-fired power units in China; (2) increase in power generation hours reduces the coal consumption rate of coal-fired units, but about 70 percent of this effect depends on the dispatching modes; (3) according to China's Twelfth Five-Year Energy Plan, generation hours of coal-fired power will decrease by 2015 compared to that of 2006-10, which would have adverse effects on coal consumption of rate of coal-fired power plants.