Recently, the General Office of the National Development and Reform Commission ("NDRC") has distributed the Circular on Fully Advancing Reform of Transmission Prices for Trans-provincial and Trans-regional Power Grids and Regional Power Grids (the "Circular").
The Circular expressly states that efforts to assess and finalize the transmission prices for power grids in Northern China are expected to end by the end of this October and those in Eastern China, Central China, northeastern and northwestern areas are scheduled to be finished by the end of this December. Further, the Circular calls for improving the transmission price adjustment mechanism for special trans-provincial and trans-regional electricity transmission projects, assessing and finalizing more rapidly the transmission prices for special trans-provincial and trans-regional power transmission projects that are recently put into production, and modifying the assessed transmission prices for special trans-provincial and trans-regional power transmission projects at regular intervals. In addition, the Circular decides to regularly supervise and audit costs and reassess the power prices at tentatively fixed three-year intervals, with respect to special trans-provincial and trans-regional power transmission projects with assessed prices. Furthermore, the Circular proposes to phase in the assessment over the power transmission prices for special power transmission projects and strive to complete the work in supervising and auditing costs and reassessing the transmission prices for all special trans-provincial and trans-regional power transmission projects with assessed prices by the end of 2018.