The central government combined the former State Electricity Regulatory Commission with the National Energy Administration in March in a move considered to mark the restart of power industry reform.

The State Grid Corp of China, the country's largest utility, became the center of the reform because of its dominant role in the power market.

The State Grid buys electricity from power generation companies, and then distributes it to users. The company has long monopolized the market, being an electricity transmission provider and power distributor.