对于完善中国居民用气价格机制的思考

中国天然气产业链已进入快速发展阶段,天然气价格形成机制也随之不断演变和完善,其中居民用气价格在我国则极为敏感。为发挥价格在资源配置中的作用,对中国居民用气价格机制进行了梳理。结果表明:(1)居民用气价格机制是天然气价格市场化改革整体的组成部分之一,2013年6月以前二者基本相互适应,之后则相互脱节,完善、改革的大方向是要使前者适应后者,完善居民用气价格机制有利于推进天然气价格市场化改革;(2)中国天然气价格市场化改革仍将处于中级阶段,目前有谋划高级阶段内容的举措;(3)完善居民用气价格机制是一项长期的任务,耗时估计在10年左右;(4)居民用气价格机制目前面临着一些突出的问题——非居民用气与居民用气价格的"双轨制"、民用气阶梯定价落地制度难以适应气价市场化、居民用气的上游价格多年未调整有可能引发多重矛盾的叠加爆发。完善居民用气价格机制的对策包括:(1)居民用气价格机制要与天然气价格市场化统筹设计,抓好价格联动机制建设;(2)加大居民用气上游价格可变动的制度安排;(3)注意运用"窗口期"机遇,化解居民用气价格"交叉补贴"的历史问题;(4)逐步调整供气调峰代价的承担主体,完善调峰代价分担机制;(5)推动居民用气价格机制改革试点。

Improving the natural gas pricing mechanism for residential consumers in China

The natural gas industry chain of China has entered the stage of rapid development, along which the natural gas pricing mechanism has changed a lot and been gradually improving, but domestic residential gas consumption has been extremely sensitive to gas price. In view of this, in order to exploit the role of gas prices played in the resource allocation, this paper first analyzed the gas pricing mechanism for residential customers in China. (1)The gas pricing mechanism plays an important part of the marketization of gas prices, they have adapted to each other before June 2013, but completely disjointed after that, the orientation of the reform should promote the latter to adapt the former. (2)The marketization of natural gas prices of China still remains at the intermediate stage, and some measures for advanced stage have been planned. (3)Improving the residential gas pricing mechanism is a long-term task, which takes about 10 years. (4)The residential gas pricing is facing some prominent problems, such as the dual-track pricing system of non-residential and residential sectors, the inadaptation of ladder pricing system in residential sector to the gas price marketization; the long-time unadjustment of the up-stream gas prices resulting in the outburst of multiple conflicts. On this basis, the following proposals are put forward. (1)The residential gas pricing system and the natural gas price marketization reform should be designed as a whole, with the construction of price linkage mechanism being highly concerned. (2)Let the up-stream gas prices become more flexibly adjusted than ever before. (3)The favorable "window period" should be a good opportunity for the policymakers to resolve the historic issue of cross-subsidization in the residential gas pricing system. (4)The market participants who bear the peak-shaving cost should be adjusted and a better peak-shaving cost share mechanism should be built up. (5)Reform pilots of the residential gas pricing machanism should be promoted.