CHINA is planning to extend its pilot power price reforms to more regions in the future, the vice head of the country’s top planning agency said yesterday, part of its efforts to make its huge electricity sector more responsive to the market.

    Lian Weiliang, the vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), also said that China was planning to establish platforms allowing power to be traded.

    China’s electricity prices are fixed by the government, and State-owned utilities have seen profits surge this year as a result of a collapse in coal prices, raising tensions with miners.

    Several provinces and regions, including big coal producers like Inner Mongolia and Ningxia, have already launched pilot reform schemes that allow local authorities more flexibility to set power tariffs.

    The reforms also involve the launch of trading schemes that allow generators and end-users to negotiate prices and volumes themselves.(SD-Agencies)