China sets power transmission fee

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China has for the first time set power transmission rates on a generator's direct power sale. This could set a precedent for other direct pricing talks on electricity sales, a key step in the power pricing reform.

Earlier this year, China announced plans to open up to 20 percent of its power market for direct trading between power generators and power users. Little progress has been made because of uncertainty over transmission fees that would be paid to grid operators.

The National Development and Reform Commission says it has set the transmission charge at 0.117 yuan per kilowatt-hour for electricity sold by Huaneng Power's Yiming Power Plant to the Liaoning Fushun Aluminum Plant. That's 0.017 yuan lower than the average rate that grid firms charged in 2008. This could lend a hand to industry users under the pressure of the global financial crisis.