Power pooling plans drawn up

Competitive bidding for part of Guangdong province’s power supply could be introduced in the second half of this year, according to a report in South China Morning Post. A plan for power pooling has been drawn up and is now awaiting approval from the provincial authority. If the move goes ahead, it is likely to become the first province to experiment with the scheme after the central government recently decided to allow grid operators to buy power from the most competitive producers. Last August, Guangdong became the first Chinese province to separate its power generation and grid assets. Zhang Dewei, company secretary of Guangdong Electric Power Development, said that power pooling was the next logical step after recent cuts in electricity prices.