Nine Chinese provinces scrap fixed TOU power tariffs in push for market-based pricing

Nine provinces throughout China have decided to cancel government-set Time-of-Use (TOU) power tariffs, while two others are still in the public consultation stage, according to a statement by the National Energy Administration (NEA), the country's top energy regulator.

The nine provinces include North China's huge industrial and manufacturing base of Hebei province, and Northwest China's major coal-producing province of Shaanxi. This move, seen as a big step towards China's power market-oriented reform, has been widely discussed in the sector, Mysteel Global notes. The TOU pricing mechanism refers to