State Grid Corp of China has vowed to reduce power costs by as much as 48.9 billion yuan ($6.96 billion) for industrial and commercial enterprises in an effort to ensure steady energy supply for hospitals in Wuhan fighting the novel coronavirus.

More than 400,000 non-energy-intensive large industrial enterprises will be exempt from a 5 percent power fee, expected to exceed 23 billion yuan in total exemptions, while more than 42 million non-high energy consumption general industrial and commercial enterprises will see a 5 percent of power cost reduction, estimated to exceed 13.4 billion yuan in total, said the company, power supplier for more than 1.1 billion people in China.

The validity period for these reductions will run from Feb 1 to June 30, it said.

It also vowed to ensure civilian power supplies, promising not to cut off electricity to households in arrears during the outbreak.

This is part of the company's array of measures to reduce business burdens and to maintain a continuous power supply to ensure companies can resume operations.

The company has also vowed to continuously advance the construction of power supply facilities at 17 hospitals in Hubei province, while further solving power-related issues at 114 designated medical institutions and 554 fever clinics in the province.

The company has donated 50 million yuan to Hubei province so far, along with assets worth 60.28 million yuan for power facility construction at Huoshenshan and Leishenshan Hospitals, the two rapidly constructed facilities built to treat patients infected by the coronavirus.