Abstract: An efficient and flexible heating system coupled with low-grade waste heat and extraction steam was constructed to balance efficiency and flexibility. The performance indexes of heating and peak shaving were determined and the thermal model was established by Ebsilon. The thermal performance of the system under design and off-design conditions in the case area was studied. The adjustable range of electric load under different heating loads was obtained. The flexible operation and control strategy and the energy consumption characteristics of the system were analyzed in case of simultaneously meeting heat and electric demand.Results show that the system achieves low energy consumption heating by matching energy and quality, reducing specific equivalent electricity consumption. The specific coal consumption for heat supply is 13.3 kg/GJ under the design condition. The maximum peaking capacity ratio is 48.1%, which is 24.3% higher than the back-extracting mode. When the electric and heat load change, the operation mode switches among back-extracting-cutting modes, and the specific coal consumption for heat supply ranges from 8 to 14.7 kg/GJ. The specific coal consumption for heat supply increases with the decrease of electric load. The system develops the energy-saving advantage of supplying heat by waste heat and realizes heat and power decoupling in a certain range. Both "efficient" and "flexible" operation are taken into account.