China is making a monumental change in how it governs its energy sector: by giving itself an energy ministry. Beijing announced earlier this month that the country's vast oil, gas, coal and power sectors will be overseen by an energy ministry, which would replace an existing regulator. The timeline and other details of the planned ministry are not yet available, but given that this is China, what the government decides, the government does.
For the past decade, the country's energy sector has been administered by the National Energy Administration (NEA), which answers to the National Development and Reform Commission, a macro-economic management body. The new ministry, apart from its higher status, is also expected to be more effective as it would combine energy-related responsibilities that are currently distributed across several government agencies.
