China's industrial policy has reignited the debate about state intervention in domestic economies. Few industries experience the guiding hand of the state as intensively as the Chinese electricity sector; a sector that has undergone radical change due to societal rumblings over the state’s hegemony in resource allocation. The term ‘smart grid’ encom-passes the technical and systemic reforms required for structural change. This study examines the impact of political intervention on power struggles in China's electricity sector through the lens of steering theory. Document analysis and interviews shed light on how steering and counter-steering strategies are developed to influence policy design and its implementation in China’s smart grid.