Requirements for a low-carbon developing mode of the power industry are a result of both the increasingly serious global climate change and the sustainable development strategy in the energy sector. Energy saving based generation dispatching is an important measure taken by China to reduce energy consumption. The relationship between energy saving based generation dispatching and low-carbon electricity is discussed. The immense benefits and significance of carrying out energy-saving generation dispatching in pushing forward the low-carbon emission development mode in the electric power industry are revealed. CO2emission assessing models suited to different power dispatching modes have been developed. Actual currently available data on China's power generation sector and future planning schemes are adopted to analyze China's CO2emission trajectories for the next twenty years under different scenarios. By adjusting the generating hours of different power units on the principle of energy saving based generation dispatching， the extent of low-carbon effect is assessed. The strategic significance of energy saving based generation dispatching is unraveled from a new perspective.