Core Viewpoint - The State Administration for Market Regulation has drafted the "Antitrust Guidelines for the Public Utilities Sector (Draft for Comments)" and is seeking public feedback on it [1]. Group 1: Overview of Public Utilities - Public utilities encompass a range of industries that provide essential goods or services to the public, including water supply, electricity, gas, heating, sewage treatment, waste disposal, broadcasting, and public transportation, most of which have natural monopoly characteristics [3]. Group 2: Antitrust Guidelines Purpose - The guidelines aim to address the unique characteristics and market competition rules of the public utilities sector, enhancing the scientific, targeted, and effective nature of antitrust enforcement [4]. Group 3: Identification of Antitrust Behaviors - The draft provides detailed specifications on potential monopolistic agreements in the public utilities sector, helping operators accurately identify legal risks [6]. - Horizontal monopolistic agreements are prevalent in the public utilities sector, particularly in the bottled gas industry, where operators may fix prices or divide market shares through informal agreements [8]. Group 4: Abuse of Market Dominance - The draft addresses the frequent occurrence of market dominance abuse in sectors like water, gas, electricity, and heating, detailing factors related to unfair pricing, refusal to deal, and other unreasonable trading conditions [9]. - It specifies common scenarios that may not be considered legitimate justifications for market dominance abuse, emphasizing that actions without legal basis or those claiming safety without proof are generally not justified [10][14].

Core Viewpoint - The State Administration for Market Regulation has released a draft guideline for public utilities aimed at enhancing antitrust enforcement in sectors characterized by natural monopolies, such as water, electricity, gas, and heating services [1][3]. Group 1: Antitrust Guidelines Overview - The draft guideline consists of seven chapters and 45 articles, providing a comprehensive framework for analyzing monopolistic agreements and abuse of market dominance in the public utilities sector [3]. - It addresses horizontal monopolistic agreements, particularly in the bottled gas industry, and outlines specific behaviors and standards for identifying such agreements [3][4]. - The guideline establishes a systematic antitrust regulatory framework that covers preemptive, ongoing, and post-incident measures in the public utilities sector [3][4]. Group 2: Specific Provisions and Implications - The guideline specifies two forms of horizontal monopolistic agreements, including price-fixing through verbal agreements or meetings, and market division through cooperative operations [4]. - It emphasizes that operators cannot justify abusive market dominance behaviors under the pretext of safety unless they can prove such actions are necessary for safety [6]. - The guideline aims to promote self-regulation among public utility operators, encouraging compliance with laws and regulations to enhance fair competition and public welfare [6][7]. Group 3: Coordination and Comprehensive Governance - The guideline highlights the need for coordinated efforts between antitrust enforcement agencies and industry regulators to address systemic monopolistic issues in public utilities [7]. - It mandates that any violations of industry regulations discovered during investigations be reported to the relevant regulatory bodies for further action [7].