A new round of grid “toll fees” has been released—how will commercial and industrial electricity costs change?

【Caixin Net】 On July 10, the National Development and Reform Commission announced the provincial power grid transmission and distribution charges and regional power grid transmission prices for the fourth regulatory period, which will take effect on August 1, 2026, directly affecting electricity bill costs for industrial and commercial users over the next three years.

Transmission and distribution charges are similar to highway “toll fees.” They refer to the prices that power grid enterprises charge users for transmission and distribution services. As a natural monopoly industry, this price is determined by the National Development and Reform Commission using a “permitted costs + reasonable returns” model and is approved once every three years. Transmission and distribution charges are an important part of the end-user electricity tariff for industrial and commercial users; for power grid enterprises, they are their core source of revenue.

Compared with the previous regulatory cycle, in roughly 20 provincial power grids nationwide, the power (energy) charges within the two-part transmission and distribution charges have been lowered, with the reduction generally within 5%. Meanwhile, the demand and capacity charges have been raised, with the increase generally around 3%–5%. Therefore, overall, transmission and distribution charges in this round remain relatively stable.