changes in load patterns. The iteration of Shandong's time of use electricity pricing policy has outlined a clear trajectory of change: in 2008, peak electricity prices were first introduced, directly targeting the pain points of the "noon+evening" double peak load; In 2015, based on the characteristics of summer and winter peak periods, the province became the first to introduce deep valley electricity prices in 2023. The electricity consumption period was divided into five levels: peak, peak, flat, valley, and deep valley. The peak electricity price doubled, and the deep valley price dropped to 10%, significantly widening the price difference and forming a strong market regulation signal.
The core of this adjustment is to reconstruct the peak valley logic: extending the evening peak to 6 hours, while shifting the midday period with sufficient sunlight and concentrated photovoltaic power generation from the traditional peak period to the trough or deep valley. The leverage effect of policy lever is immediate - in 2024, the peak load of midday valley filling in Shandong reached 5.8387 million kilowatts, with an additional consumption of 2.3 billion kilowatt hours of wind and solar new energy, significantly improving the utilization rate of new energy.
Shandong's exploration is not an isolated case. In the new regulations on local time of use electricity prices to be implemented in July 2025, the peak hours for summer and winter evenings in Anhui will reach 8 hours, while in Jiangxi, the peak hours for evenings in 10 months of the year will exceed 6 hours. The institutionalized transformation of load patterns from "double peak short-term" to "single peak long valley" is essentially an active response of the power system to changes in energy structure and economic activities.
Load Restructuring: Dual Drivers of New Energy and Economic Development
China's power load has long been locked in a "double peak and double valley" pattern, which is deeply rooted in the energy structure dominated by thermal power and the traditional production and life rhythm. However, the current load pattern has undergone new changes.
The 'long-term requirement' for long-term energy storage comes from load and policy
Under the dual changes, the mismatch between daytime power generation surplus and nighttime power supply shortage is becoming increasingly prominent. The National Development and Reform Commission predicts that the highest electricity load in China during the peak summer season this year will increase by about 100 million kilowatts, highlighting supply and demand risks. In this context, energy storage has become the core means of balancing supply and demand, and its charging and discharging time and efficiency directly determine peak shaving capabilities, requiring longer cycles to cope with fluctuations and mismatches.
Under the guidance of the electricity pricing mechanism, it is clear that energy storage needs to be replenished during critical periods, which is why long-term energy storage needs to reach 4-6 hours or even longer. If the discharge is insufficient, a gap is likely to occur in the later stage of the peak, causing a chain risk. In 2023, while adjusting the electricity pricing strategy, Shandong Province issued the "Several Measures to Support the Pilot Application of Long term Energy Storage", which clearly requires that the discharge time of long-term energy storage power should not be less than 4 hours; In the policy released by Hebei Province in 2024, three off peak periods are specifically set up during the day to guide energy storage to be charged at noon, in order to better match the output and load demand of new energy generation.
However, there are still significant shortcomings in the current development of long-term energy storage: data from the National Energy Administration at the beginning of the year showed that projects lasting more than 4 hours accounted for less than 16%, with an average duration of only 2.3 hours, which is in stark contrast to the high penetration of new energy and the increasing demand for load growth. To this end, multiple departments of the country have issued intensive policies to promote the application of long-term energy storage technology, which has also pointed out the direction for industry breakthroughs.
Under the natural evolution of load, long-term energy storage is the core to breaking the balance between new energy consumption and supply and demand. The Weijing Energy Storage VP series capacity energy storage products accurately match the increasingly long peak demand for electricity with a continuous discharge capacity of 4-6 hours or more, forming the core support for long-term energy storage. It uses an alkaline aqueous electrolyte to achieve intrinsic safety, non flammability, and non explosion from a chemical perspective; Zinc and iron raw materials are abundant and inexpensive, meeting the requirements of safe, reliable, and economically reasonable power systems with low electricity costs.
Meanwhile, the modular design of power and capacity supports rapid production, independent expansion, and adaptability to diverse scenarios; The electrolyte is free of heavy metals and non-toxic, with a cycle life of over 20000 times, which can match the lifecycle of wind and solar power plants and significantly reduce maintenance costs. At the beginning of its design, this product was anchored to the trend of high proportion of new energy, predicting and actively responding to future long-term balanced demands based on its technical characteristics, becoming a benchmark for transforming "long-term energy storage" from a concept to a practical one.
