Guidelines on Anti-Monopoly in the Public Utilities Sector that Concern People's Livelihood are open for public comments.

The Anti-Monopoly Guidelines for the Utility Sector drafted by the State Administration for Market Regulation are now open for public consultation. The State Administration for Market Regulation explains that the utility sector refers to a series of industries that provide essential universal goods or services for the production and living of the public, including water supply, electricity supply, gas supply, heating supply, sewage treatment, waste treatment, broadcasting and television, public transportation, etc., most of which have natural monopoly links. Currently, monopoly behaviors are more common in the utility sector, and operators in the utility sector are prone to extending their monopoly advantages to competitive links upstream and downstream or excluding, restricting market competition in competitive links upstream and downstream. Therefore, based on relevant provisions such as the Anti-Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China, the State Administration for Market Regulation has systematically summarized enforcement experiences, widely solicited opinions and suggestions from relevant departments, operators, industry associations, and experts, and drafted the guidelines to further clarify the basic principles of anti-monopoly law enforcement in the utility sector, refine the analysis of monopoly behaviors and identification criteria, provide clearer and more specific guidance for anti-monopoly law enforcement and compliance by operators in the utility sector, improve the long-term supervision mechanism, and promote the sustained, standardized, and healthy development of the utility sector.