THE National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the nation’s top economic planner, said yesterday it will set new power transmission prices by the end of October, in its latest effort to liberalize the power market and promote trading of electricity across different regions.

The government has made a series of moves to open up the country’s power market since late 2015, including launching a power trading scheme for eight provinces and reducing power distribution prices.

Power grid operators charge utilities transmission fees to transport electricity within a region as well as between regions.

The NDRC said in a statement it will announce transportation prices on the major west to east power grid by October and revisit prices every three years.

The aim of the move is to create a more level playing field for utilities across the world’s No. 2 economy.

Under recent market reforms, utilities in western regions, such as Xinjiang and Ningxia, are now able to sell electricity on the east coast, but they complain transmission fees are too high, which makes them uncompetitive with local utilities. (SD-Agencies)