China's National Development and Reform Commission has approved new rules for how electricity is traded between provinces. This means local power markets must now connect and balance supply and demand across a wider area.
Why this matters
For years, Chinese provinces functioned like independent energy fiefdoms. Local officials would hoard cheap power for their own factories or keep inefficient coal plants running to protect local jobs, even if the province next door had a massive surplus of clean energy. These rules break those silos, forcing local players to compete with outsiders for the first time.
The signal
Our bet: provinces with massive wind and solar farms will love this, while coal-heavy provinces will quietly try to sabotage it to protect their local industry. Watch for how many "technical glitches" suddenly prevent power from crossing borders in the next six months.