Promulgated by: National Energy Administration.
Index No.: 000019705/2026-000076.
Date of Issue: June 30, 2026.
Effective Date: July 1, 2026.
Legal Effect Level: Departmental normative document, issued to implement the Measures for the Administration of Data Security in the Energy Industry (Trial).
Chapter 1 General Provisions
Article 1. This Guide is formulated in order to regulate data processing activities in the energy industry and strengthen the classified and hierarchical management of energy industry data, pursuant to the Measures for the Administration of Data Security in the Energy Industry (Trial) and other relevant provisions.
Article 2. This Guide applies to the classification and grading of non-classified energy industry data within the territory of the People’s Republic of China.
Where an energy data processor carries out energy industry data processing activities involving State secrets, or matters that constitute State secrets after being aggregated and correlated by it, it shall comply with the provisions of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets and other laws and administrative regulations.
The definitions of terms used in this Guide are all consistent with those in the Measures for the Administration of Data Security in the Energy Industry (Trial).
Article 3. The classification and grading of energy industry data shall follow the following principles:
Clear basis. The characteristics and use of the data shall be the principal basis for classification; the importance and scale of the energy facilities or users concerned, together with the degree of potential security risk, shall be the basis for grading.
Clear boundaries. All energy industry data shall have a determined category and level, with corresponding protective measures, so as to make it easy for energy data processors to determine the level of their data.
The higher and stricter level shall govern. Where energy industry data involves security risks in multiple respects, its level shall be determined according to the highest degree of risk involved.
Dynamic updating. Where the factors determining the level of energy industry data change, the identification rules and data levels shall be adjusted accordingly.
Chapter 2 Rules for the Classification and Grading of Energy Industry Data
Article 4. The dimensions for classifying energy industry data include, but are not limited to, energy type and energy activity.
By energy type, the first-level classification of energy industry data is divided into: coal, petroleum, natural gas, nuclear energy, hydro energy, wind energy, solar energy, biomass energy, geothermal energy, ocean energy, electric power, hydrogen energy, and the like.
By energy activity, the second-level classification of energy industry data is divided into: planning, design, construction, production, storage and transport, consumption, scientific research, and the like.
Energy data processors may, based on the content and characteristics of the data, carry out third-level and fourth-level classification.
Article 5. Based on factors such as the importance, precision, scale, and security risk of the data, energy industry data is divided into three levels: general, important, and core.
Article 6. Derived data produced from energy industry important data or core data through processing activities such as statistical analysis, correlation, mining, or aggregation shall, where it can be restored or reconstituted into important data or core data, in principle be managed at its original level.
Article 7. Where energy industry important data or core data, after undergoing de-sensitization treatment, can no longer be restored or reconstituted into important data or core data, core data may be downgraded to important data or general data, and important data may be downgraded to general data.
Chapter 3 Rules for Identifying Energy Industry Important Data and Core Data
Article 8. Coordinate data for the geographic location — at a precision better than or equal to 100 meters — of the following energy infrastructure, as well as any materials containing such coordinate data, constitute energy industry important data:
- Coal mines with an annual output of 10 million tonnes or more;
- Thermal power stations with a single-unit (set) capacity of 1,000,000 kW or more and a total installed capacity of 3,000,000 kW or more;
- Hydropower stations (excluding pumped-storage power stations) with an installed capacity of 1,200,000 kW or more, or a total reservoir capacity of 1 billion cubic meters or more;
- Nuclear power stations;
- Substations (switching stations) and converter stations of 750 kV (exclusive) or above.
Article 9. Real-time production-and-operation instruction data of the following energy infrastructure constitute energy industry important data:
- Hydropower stations (excluding pumped-storage power stations) with an installed capacity of 1,200,000 kW or more, or a total reservoir capacity of 1 billion cubic meters or more;
- Substations (switching stations) and converter stations of 750 kV (exclusive) or above;
- The dispatch and control system of the Oil and Gas Dispatch Control Center of the China Oil & Gas Piping Network Corporation (PipeChina, 国家管网集团).
Article 10. The following electric-power consumption data constitute energy industry important data:
- Raw electric-power consumption data of special-grade important electric-power users;
- Raw electric-power consumption data of Level-I and Level-II important electric-power users in the national-defense and military category;
- Raw electric-power consumption data of 10 million or more electric-power users.
Article 11. Energy industry important data meeting the following conditions constitute energy industry core data:
- Raw electric-power consumption data of special-grade important electric-power users, covering a continuous period of 1 year or more;
- Raw electric-power consumption data of 100 million or more electric-power users.
Chapter 4 Supplementary Provisions
Article 12. For the purposes of this Guide, “electric-power user” means an end consumer that receives electric-power supply from a power-supply enterprise, including individuals, enterprises, institutions, and other entities.
The special-grade, Level-I, and Level-II important electric-power users referred to in this Guide shall be determined in accordance with the provisions and procedures of relevant State documents.
The “materials” referred to in Article 8 of this Guide include, but are not limited to: planning materials, design drawings, construction drawings, production and operation-and-maintenance materials, and scientific research materials.
Article 13. Apart from the data-grading identification rules expressly set out in this Guide, where other energy industry data is determined through assessment to constitute energy industry important data or core data, the National Energy Administration will issue supplementary provisions and revise this Guide in due course.
Article 14. This Guide shall be interpreted by the National Energy Administration.
Article 15. This Guide shall take effect on July 1, 2026.
Official Q&A — NEA explanation of the Guide
Source: National Energy Administration, “A Responsible Official of the National Energy Administration Answers Reporters’ Questions on the Guide to the Classification and Grading of Energy Industry Data (2026 Edition),” June 30, 2026. Government press material; translated by DCC for reference.
Q1. What is the purpose and function of issuing the Guide? To advance the energy industry’s further implementation of the Data Security Law of the People’s Republic of China, to regulate energy industry data processing activities, to strengthen the classified and hierarchical management of energy industry data, and to promote the utilization of energy industry data, the National Energy Administration formulated and issued the Guide, which together with the Measures for the Administration of Data Security in the Energy Industry (Trial) forms the basic management system for energy industry data security; further supporting systems will continue to be developed going forward. The Guide is intended to guide data processors in classifying and grading the non-classified energy industry data they hold, in precisely identifying energy industry important data and core data, and, in accordance with the requirements of the Measures for the Administration of Data Security in the Energy Industry (Trial), in strengthening the management and security protection of important data and core data.
Q2. What are the main contents of the Guide? The Guide has 4 chapters and 15 articles in total. Chapter 1, General Provisions, sets out the purpose, basis, scope of application, and overall principles of the Guide. Chapter 2 sets out the rules for classifying and grading energy industry data, as well as the grading rules for derived data and de-sensitized data. Chapter 3 sets out the specific identification rules for energy industry important data and core data. Chapter 4, Supplementary Provisions, covers definitions, supplementary revision, the right of interpretation, and the effective date. For terms already defined in the Measures for the Administration of Data Security in the Energy Industry (Trial), the Guide maintains consistency with those definitions.
Q3. What is the basis on which the Guide divides data into important data and core data? The basis is the degree of harm to national security that would result from the leakage or tampering of the data. On the one hand, damage to important energy infrastructure or tampering with control instructions could interrupt energy supply and thereby affect economic operation and people’s livelihoods. On the other hand, energy consumption data can reflect the production and business operations of enterprises and the personal conduct of citizens, and can be used to infer the operating conditions of key sectors and personal privacy. For these reasons, the precise geographic coordinates and real-time control instructions of certain important energy infrastructure, together with energy consumption data, have been included as energy industry important data and core data.
Q4. Apart from the energy industry important data and core data specified in the Guide, may an energy data processor deal with other data it holds as it pleases? No. First, data security is directed at non-classified data; where data held by an energy data processor constitutes a State secret, the processor shall comply with the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets and other laws and administrative regulations. Second, the Guide sets out the identification rules for important data and core data within energy industry data; where an energy data processor holds important data or core data as specified by the competent authority of another industry, it shall comply with the provisions of the relevant authority. Third, where an energy data processor collects or stores personal information above a certain scale, it shall comply with the Personal Information Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Network Data Security Management Regulations, and other laws and regulations. Fourth, the Guide provides that “raw electric-power consumption data of 10 million or more electric-power users” is important data, and that “raw electric-power consumption data of 100 million or more electric-power users” is core data. Even where the data held by an energy data processor has not reached the scale threshold, the processor should nonetheless strengthen data protection, to prevent leaked data from being unlawfully used once it accumulates.
Q5. After the Guide is issued, what do energy data processors need to do? Processors of energy industry important data and core data bear principal responsibility for their own data security and shall perform their data-security protection responsibilities and obligations in accordance with the Data Security Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Measures for the Administration of Data Security in the Energy Industry (Trial). First, they shall identify and compile their entity’s catalogue of energy industry important data against the Guide, and submit the catalogue of important data as required by the provincial energy competent authority of the place where the data carrier is located; where a material change occurs, they shall re-submit it through the prescribed procedure within three months. Second, they shall establish and improve their entity’s data security management system, clarifying the management requirements for each stage of the full data lifecycle. Third, they shall adopt the necessary data-security technical measures to implement the requirements of systems such as cybersecurity multi-level protection, critical information infrastructure security protection, cryptographic protection, and secrecy protection, so as to ensure that energy industry important data and core data remain in a state of effective protection and lawful utilization. Fourth, they shall, on their own or by entrusting a third-party assessment institution with risk-assessment capability, carry out a risk assessment of their data processing activities at least once a year, promptly rectify risk problems, and submit risk assessment reports as required by the provincial energy competent authority. Fifth, where the outbound transfer of important data or the cross-entity transfer of core data is involved, they shall apply for a risk assessment as required by the relevant provisions. Sixth, where they discover risks such as data security defects or vulnerabilities, they shall immediately take remedial measures; where a data security incident occurs, they shall immediately take handling measures, promptly inform the relevant users as required, and report to the provincial energy competent authority.
Q6. Will the identification rules for energy industry important data and core data be adjusted? Yes. In light of developments in the national security situation, the identification rules for energy industry important data and core data in the Guide will be adjusted accordingly. The National Energy Administration will continue to analyze and assess the situation and will continue to revise and improve the Guide in accordance with data-security requirements.
— Guide to the Classification and Grading of Energy Industry Data (2026 Edition), issued by the National Energy Administration, June 30, 2026, effective July 1, 2026. Source (Chinese). Official Q&A source: NEA press Q&A (Chinese).